2 weeks in Romania
by Burning-candlelight
Summary: Can a 2 week holiday change someone for good? Find out what occurs when Hermione Granger spends 2 weeks with Charlie Weasley in a foreign country. AU :D *COMPLETE YAY*
1. Arguing over SPEW

Hello there to all you people in Fanfiction land. Thanks for choosing to read my first ever Charlie/Hermione fanfiction. I don't know why I decided to try and write this sort of fanfiction because it never was a pairing that occured to me...but once I started writting I found that I could have a lot of fun with Charlie and Hermione :D. So please enjoy my first chapter of _2 Weeks in Romania_ which is an **AU**.

**_Disclaimer: I own...nothing weep_**

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter One: Arguing over SPEW**_

"Oh SHUT UP Ronald!"

"Don't you tell me to shut up!"

Harry Potter rolled his eyes at his long-term girlfriend Ginny Weasley and she in turn rolled her eyes back at him. Their best friend Hermione and Ginny's brother Ron were arguing _again_. They had started dating 1 year after they had both left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and these arguments had been a regular occurrence ever since.

"I wonder what they are fighting about now," Ginny said to her boyfriend. Harry's stunning green eyes turned to Ginny and he chuckled. "Knowing those two…it could be anything," he said in a light tone. Harry and Ginny, who were sitting in the living area of the Burrow on their favourite sofa, suddenly heard the sound of small feet stomping towards them. A few seconds later Hermione forced open the living area door, stomped through it and slammed the door on Ron's nose. She grumbled something in the direction of Ginny and Harry, who were looking mildly astonished at the typical occurrence, and made her way, rather heavily, to Ginny's bedroom. Harry looked over to the door which Hermione had, on many occasions, assaulted Ron with and seen his best friend stumble through it rubbing his aching nose.

"Bloody women!" he growled angrily. After a subtle cough from Ginny he turned to his sister and then added, "No offence there Gin," he said with a small smile. "None taken," Ginny replied back to him dryly.

"Can we ask what it was about this time mate?" Harry asked as he got up off the sofa and offered Ron his seat beside his sister. Ron nodded solemnly as Ginny patted him on his back and started to tell Harry what he and his girlfriend of almost 2 years had been arguing about.

* * *

"Ron you know not to say anything bad about S.P.E.W," said Harry with a chuckle as he looked at Ron's grumpy expression.

"But how can I not? She wanted me to go to one of her stupid rally's, covered in S.P.E.W badges and hand out flyers as she made some stupid speech," said the youngest Weasley boy as he touched his throbbing nose lightly. Ginny sighed heavily and shook her head at her brother.

"You should always support your girlfriend no matter what," she said wisely and after she had said this she glanced at Harry who gave her a cheeky smirk in return.

"I know! I get this speech all of the time from you guys…but S.P.E.W is just so stupid!" Ron said in a less than happy tone. Ginny sighed at her brother again and got up and headed towards her room. She had thought she'd better talk to Hermione as well as her idiotic brother.

* * *

Hermione Granger was sitting brushing her hair angrily when she heard the voice of one of her best friends speak to her.

"You know I really love your hair like that," said Ginny in a sweet voice as she entered her own bedroom. Hermione reluctantly smiled at the red-headed girl and then looked at her hair. Her once frizzy head of flyaway curls had been tamed into loose, elegant curls and had been chopped off to just below her neck. She had gotten so bored of her childish, bookworm style that she had spontaneously went to the hairdressers the previous week and had her hair dramatically altered.

"I suppose you heard what happened," Hermione said somewhat tartly as she returned to brushing her hair. Ginny nodded her head silently as she stared at her best friend. Hermione gave a very unladylike snort through her nose and looked back at the calm red-head.

"I bet he's put me into a bad light as usual," she said with disdain.

"No he actually didn't for once…he just told us what happened and then badmouthed S.P.E.W for a bit," Ginny replied with as much effort as she could to repress the laugh that was building up in her chest.

"Wow now that's a slap in the face," Hermione said as she set her brush down and went over to Ginny. "Yeah it is, he actually didn't put you into a bad light. But there was really no way he could have because we know that you don't pressure us into doing those things…_anymore_," the youngest of the Weasley clan said as she embraced Hermione in a comforting hug. Hermione smiled into Ginny's shoulder and returned her hug with tremendous warmth. But suddenly their hug was cut short as they heard a loud rapping on the bedroom door.

"Gin…Herms…come on out to the kitchen mum has something to tell us," came the voices of the Weasley twins from the other side of the door.

"We'll be right there thanks," called Ginny as Hermione took some deep breaths. She then smiled at Ginny and they left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen where everyone who was in the house was gathered.

* * *

"I have some excellent news for you all," said Molly Weasley as she beamed at the people who were now located in her kitchen. The faces of Fred and George, her hugely successful twin boys, Ron, her youngest and surprisingly tallest boy, Ginny, her beloved daughter, Harry, Ginny's boyfriend and also her 'adopted' son and Hermione, Ron's fiery and marvellously intelligent girlfriend, were all gazing up at her in pleasant wonder.

"What is it mum?" Ginny asked as she sat atop Harry's knee. Molly smiled at her daughter and then looked at everyone in the room again.

"Well your father has just sent me an owl from the ministry and has told me that he has received that bonus and raise that he has been working so hard for and well…with the extra money we are taking everyone to Romania to see Charlie!" Molly said with a thrilled voice. A dumb silence followed her announcement.

"Everyone? Even Harry and Hermione?" asked George from his seat beside his twin. Molly nodded her head with vigour.

"For how long?" asked Ron who was seated nowhere near his fiery girlfriend. "2 weeks, in a five wand hotel which has been highly recommended by Witch Weekly and of course our dear Charlie," Molly said, her voice oozing with glee. Another short silence followed this as everyone started to absorb what they had just been told and then suddenly everyone cheered, got up from their chairs and hugged Molly.

* * *

"Right George we must sort out who will look after our precious first store in Britain while we are away for these two weeks," Fred was heard saying to George as they gathered their things to apparate back to their dearly loved store.

"I can't believe we are leaving in 3 days! I really need to go shopping," Ginny was heard saying to Harry as they headed out to the back garden to go flying. Ron was however not heard saying anything to Hermione and vice versa. Molly scratched her head as she seen Hermione sitting in the living area reading a book and Ron making his way up to his room in a violent huff. She sighed, they'd had another fight.

"Ron Weasley you come back here this instant!" she yelled up the stairs after her son. She then went into the living area and sat down in the chair which was closest to Hermione. Hermione glanced at Molly over the top of her book. She knew what was happening now, so she put her book down and looked earnestly at the woman in the other chair. Soon after Ron made his way grumpily into the living area and sat down on the empty sofa and shot a glare at his mother.

"Now it is as plain as day that you two have had yet _another_ argument," Molly said as she looked from the earnest looking Hermione to her red-faced son.

"Yes Molly," Hermione said with a trace of disdain in her voice. Ron glared at her and then went back to staring at his shoes.

"Well this tension simply cannot go on. We are leaving in 3 days to go and see Charlie and I do not want you two like this when we get the portkey," Molly said firmly to them. Hermione nodded her head with dignity. She knew what she had to do. For this particular argument she would have to take the high-road and apologise to her quick-tempered boyfriend.

"Ron I'm sorry we fought. I will never ask you to do anything for S.P.E.W ever again," Hermione said with fake sincerity. Well she didn't have to completely forgive him did she?

"That's alright Hermione, I'm sorry I started the argument in the first place. I should have been more supportive," Ron said with what seemed like an honest apologetic tone. Hermione mentally smirked 'Ginny must have told him something like that,' she thought to herself. They got up, hugged each other and smiled at Molly who had an air of power about her. They then took each others hands and headed out into the garden.

* * *

Sitting beneath their favourite tree in the garden Hermione glanced at Ron who was watching Harry and Ginny flying about merrily in the air.

"Will you at least come to the rally?" Hermione asked quietly. Ron took his gaze off the flying couple and looked at his girlfriend. He smiled at her and then said "Yeah I'll come…when is it?"

"2 days after we come back from Romania," she informed him. Ron repressed the urge to say something which could potentially cause another argument and continued to smile at her. "That's great," he said and leaned in and kissed her gently.

* * *

**A/N:** Ooo so that was the first chapter! I know Charlie wasn't in it exactly but he will be in the next chapter :D. So tell me what you think by Reviewing my work. **THANKS!!  
**


	2. Shopping!

Hello again :D This is the second chapter to my new fan-fiction about Hermione and Charlie. Oh I'm so excited lol. I would like to thank **MarineFlyer86**for all of her support and her first review which kept my spirits up. Thankies thankies thankies! I dedicate this chapter to you :D

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...unfortunately_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Two: Shopping!**_

Hermione woke the next morning to find Ginny practically jumping on her. "It's about time you woke up lazy bones!" the excited woman exclaimed as she got up from Hermione's bed and ran to her closet. Hermione rubbed the sleep from her eyes and leaned up on her elbow as she watched Ginny fling clothes randomly about her.

"What do you mean it's about…time?" Hermione said yawning widely. She looked at the watch her mother had gotten her for her 20th birthday, which had been only a couple of months ago. Her eyes widened at the time…it was only 8 o'clock.

"We have to go shopping in an hour! Lady Wand's sale starts at 9!" Ginny said loudly as she finally found the clothes she wanted to wear.

"Ginny I don't know how you can afford to spend like you do?" Hermione said as she swung her legs out of bed. Ginny giggled, both she and Hermione were in Healer training and she knew exactly what Hermione was getting at. She was only in her second year of training and Hermione was in her third and it was very costly training, the supplies alone costing barely over 80 galleons per year.

"Oh don't you worry about me. I have a very big savings account. I started saving when I was 4 and well I was able to save a lot of money. Not to mention Fred and George have started spoiling me rotten since they started raking in the dough. I tell them not to but each month I find more strange money in my account," Ginny said as she pulled on her ¾ length jeans.

Hermione smiled warmly. Ginny really was a wise person. Hermione too found it costly to go into Healer training but her parents were more than helpful and because they were both hard working dentists she was never strapped for cash as they had decided to give her monthly allowances until she finished Healer training and found a secure job.

"Are you going to lye there all day or are you going to get up and come to Lady Wand's with me to spend some cash!" exclaimed Ginny as she pulled her head through her white t-shirt which stated on it in large black writing 'Make love not war.'

* * *

Hermione soon found herself standing in Diagon Alley in a very long queue outside Lady Wand's. The shop promptly opened at 9am and Ginny dragged her in. Almost 3 hours later they emerged from the depths of the shop, laden with bags and wearing very happy faces.

"Wow I think that was possibly the best sale I have ever been to," Hermione stated as she struggled to carry her bags up the busy alley. Ginny beamed at her, "I know it was so cheap. I can't believe we were able to get this much for so little."

"Yeah. Oh dear…I'm hungry," Hermione said as her stomach gave a giant gurgle. Ginny nodded her head, "Yeah I am too. Come on let's head to Fred and George and get something to eat," she said and with that the two very happy women headed in the direction of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Thanks so much Fred," said Hermione sweetly as Fred handed her and Ginny a large steaming mug of tea. Even though it was the middle of summer Hermione still appreciated a good cup of tea.

"No problem, you two look as though you need it after all of that shopping. I'm taking it you went to Lady Wand's," Fred said as he sat down behind the till. Hermione and Ginny were sitting either side of him and they both nodded their heads vigorously as they sipped their tea.

"Where's George?" Ginny asked after a moment of silence. Fred grinned at her, "He's interviewing people to take over the shop for 2 weeks."

"You two are terrible! Interviewing your own staff…again," Hermione said with a giggle. Fred turned to her "Well you'd be exactly like us if you had to leave your precious shop for two weeks and have utter morons looking after it," he said with mild dignity. "Ah but the thing is…I don't have my own shop," Hermione said and after that all three of them started to laugh.

* * *

Harry screwed up his face in mock pain. Ginny sighed heavily and rolled her eyes yet again. Percy Weasley who had just entered the kitchen with his fiancée Penelope groaned and made a gesture towards the living area. Ginny and Harry both nodded their heads slowly. Hermione and Ron were in the midst of another argument.

"It was a sale Ronald!"

"I don't care…you don't need that much stuff!"

"Why won't you let me have nice things?"

"I do let you have nice things, you just didn't need all of those clothes and shoes!"

"If you hadn't noticed Ronald I've been wearing the same outfits for well over a year now. I think I deserve a change once in a while!"

"She has him there," Ginny whispered to the people who were now listening to the heated argument.

"Hermione you are a Healer in training! You need that money to pay for supplies and text books!"

"I have all of my required text books. I do have to make a living for myself too you know. I have my allowance!"

"Yeah which you spend on crap!"

"Oh dear he shouldn't have said that," whispered Penelope to the listening audience.

"Crap? Crap? How _dare_ you! I bought clothes Ron…clothes are hardly crap. They were on sale and everything so I was _saving_ money! What would you have me do? Walk around naked?"

"No I would not. You didn't need those clothes!"

"Yes I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did and don't you dare tell me again that I didn't. Why do you find it so hard to believe that I was able to get that many clothes for such a little amount of money?"

"Is that sale still on?" Penelope asked Ginny quietly. "Yeah but it stops next Monday," Ginny whispered back.

"Wait don't even answer that. I've had enough, I'm going outside. Feel free to apologise to me when you've grown up!"

After this last statement the audience that had been listening to the argument heard a loud slam and then heard Hermione making her way to the back garden. Ron then entered into the kitchen and looked at the 4 people who had been listening.

"So who do you agree with?" he asked heatedly. The 4 people looked at each other and then back up at Ron and then said in unison, "Hermione."

* * *

The day came when everyone had to leave for Romania. Arthur and Molly had gotten a portkey arranged for them in the field next to the Burrow, Fred and George had found suitable people to take care of their shop, Harry and Ginny were giddy and Ron and Hermione had made up twice more before it was time to go.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Arthur Weasley with gusto. The group agreed and held onto their luggage with extra firm grips and before they knew it they all felt that familiar sensation behind their navels and they were off. Minutes later they felt their feet touch the ground and they knew that they were in Romania.

"It's about time you lot got here!" they heard a familiar voice call out to them. Everyone turned round and there about 100 yards from where they landed stood Charlie Weasley waving frantically at them with his tanned muscular arms.

* * *

"Oh Charlie I'm so happy to see you!" Molly said as she cooed over her son. Charlie grinned at his mother and then looked at the group of people that were sitting in the lobby of the 5 wand hotel which they were staying in. Arthur was up getting the rooms sorted and as they waited for their father to finish Charlie chatted animatedly to everyone.

"Gin you haven't changed a bit since I last seen you," Charlie said fondly to his little sister. Ginny gave him a broad smile and giggled lightly. "Harry I trust you've been treating her well…am I right?" Charlie said with mock seriousness. Harry chuckled and looked lovingly at his girlfriend and then turned back to Charlie, "You know it mate," he said happily. Charlie laughed softly as he high-fived Harry. "Ron stop looking so sour. Look where you are! These people don't _do _sour you know," Charlie said to his youngest brother who was sitting beside him. Charlie ruffled Ron's hair as he put on a forced smile. Charlie then looked at Hermione. "Hey Herms. You look really different since I last seen you. You're hair is really nice," he said gently to the intelligent witch who had turned a light shade of pink. Hermione thanked him and then turned away from him. Charlie was always such a gentleman to her, he was kind and courteous and he always knew how to make her smile. Why couldn't Ron be more like he was? Charlie had noticed her hair straight away yet it had taken Ron the better part of a day to notice.

"Here we go. All sorted now. Ron and Harry here is the key to your room. Ginny and Hermione…Fred and George and lastly you and I Molly," said Arthur who had came from the front desk and now stood before them all.

"Dad I hope they didn't give you any hassle," said Charlie as he stood up and went over to his father. Charlie was very different to the other Weasley men. Whereas they were all moderately tall he was only of an average height. He was more built than the rest of them and compared to his brothers his skin was almost the colour of toffee and his brothers and father were all so white they practically reflected.

"Come on Herms let's go and see our room," Ginny said excitedly as she grabbed her bags and zoomed off up the stairs to the third floor. Hermione gaped after her best friend and couldn't help but laugh at her pure energy. Hermione looked around everyone else had set off too and Ron had already disappeared up the staircase.

"Here let me carry your bags for you," said Charlie suddenly from behind her. She didn't realise that he was still standing there and quite frankly she jumped in surprise at the sound of his deep, smooth voice.

"Oh…t-thank you Charlie but you don't have to," Hermione said as she gripped onto her suitcase. Charlie chuckled amiably and shook his head gently, "Oh no I insist. I can let Gin carry her own bags; she's a real live wire but I wouldn't want you straining any muscles on the count that my stupid little brother didn't carry your heavy bags for you," Charlie said in a gentlemanly manner. Hermione gave him a small smile and thanked him again. He grabbed her bags and then they both made their way up to the third floor talking politely to each other as they went.

**A/N:** So there you have it another chapter...and Charlie's in the picture YAY! Well please review and tell me what you thought. Thanks :D


	3. Dragon Steak

Another chapter up :D Thanks for your reviews tee hee hee!! I'm glad you all like Herms/Charlie...ME TOO...evidently hahaha. Okay so enjoy another chapter!

_Disclaimer: I own my brain...but not Harry Potter D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Three: Dragon Steak**_

Once they had gotten settled into their rooms the Weasley clan plus their friends made their way down to the restaurant for some dinner.

"Our room is great! Two double beds what more could we ask for?" George said to Ginny as she looked at the menu.

"Two separate showers," said Charlie to his brother with a laugh. Charlie had been invited by his parents to have dinner with them in the restaurant and he had accepted with great pleasure. Ginny laughed at her older brother and scanned down through the menu. She then turned to Harry who was sitting beside her and started to converse with him about what she might want to have for dinner.

Charlie who was sitting in between George and Hermione turned to Hermione and looked at her intently. Hermione felt his eyes on her and glanced up at him from behind her menu.

"You aren't thinking on have the Dragon Steak are you?" he said with emotion in his voice. Hermione giggled at him and shook her head. "No I was thinking more along the lines of the chicken pasta dish with a side order of green vegetables." Charlie pretended to wipe his forehead in relief and then said "Well that's good news," he said with a light laugh. The waitress then came over to the table and took everyone's orders.

"I'll have the roast honey duck with a side of champ please," Molly said to the waitress.

"I'll have the Chinese style shrimp with a side of champ as well please," Arthur said in a hungry tone.

"Black bean duck."

"Chicken pasta."

"Dragon steak…medium rare please."

Charlie slapped his hand to his forehead and the whole table stared at the person who had placed the order. "Ronald!" exclaimed Hermione as Charlie glared at his youngest brother.

* * *

As the last of the plates were lifted Hermione sighed contentedly. The meal had been fabulous. Her chicken had been done to perfection and the green vegetables were very crisp and crunchy. Ron ate his dragon steak so fast that he ended up choking on an extra large lump. His mother ended up have to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre on him, much to the delight of Fred and George. Charlie hadn't spoken to Ron since he ordered his meal and when his steak had arrived he started to wail and moan. "That's French Grey dragon meat! OH HILDA! BARNEY! How could they do such a thing to you?" he'd said dramatically.

Hermione smiled frivolously as she remembered the evening and then she turned to Charlie. Charlie looked at her in a puzzled manner and then she asked him. "Who are Hilda and Barney?" she asked in a tired tone. Charlie chuckled and took a sip from his wine glass. "They are two of our oldest French Grey dragons. They are about ready to die so that's why I thought it best to use their names, so as not to jinx any of our younger dragons," he said as he swirled the wine in his glass. Hermione smiled again, Charlie was most certainly one of the sweeter of the Weasley boys. Bill was very sweet and very charming. He was so good to Fleur and she was positive that she'd never heard him shout before. Percy had his sweet moments but he was far from being the sweetest of the bunch. Hermione felt that he was a more preserved and calculating figure that preferred to be working and making money. But he must appear different to Penelope who always seemed to have a smile on her face and have very high regards for her husband. Fred and George were terribly sweet but also terribly misleading. Hermione had had her fair share of run-ins with the twins and knew to always take them with a pinch of salt. It could be argued however that George was not as sweet as Fred but Hermione didn't really want to trouble her mind with that at the moment. Finally there was Ron her boyfriend. He could be sweet, when he was forced to be and when he was sweet it was always in a goofy way which Hermione did appreciate from time to time but she was a more traditional person who preferred traditional sweetness, as it were. Charlie…well Charlie was like Bill. He always liked to help people whenever he could and when it came to Hermione, Charlie was always willing to have intelligent conversations with her, help her, and really do anything and everything for her. Molly always claimed that Charlie was fond of her and well quite frankly this did bother Ron.

"That was very considerate of you," Hermione said with a light laugh as Charlie gave her a wide grin. He then went on to excuse himself, tapped on his wine glass with a spoon and got the attention of the table.

"Well it is almost time for me to be heading back to the Dragon reserve so I just want to inform you all of the plans that I have made for the next two weeks," he said as he smiled at his family. Molly practically giggled in delight as her son continued on with his speech.

"Tomorrow I'm afraid I can't be with you all so tomorrow can be regarded as your 'free day' or 'rest day' or whatever. The next day I am going to take you all into the town of Sobenaş which is the main wizarding town in the area and if we're lucky we might be able to journey into the muggle town of Sebeş which is also nearby. The day after that I have arranged to take you into the Dragon reserve for you all to meet the dragons. Then we shall have another 'free day' because I think I'll need a break after letting you see the dragons. After this we will then start our 1 week Vampire tour, seeing as we are in the province of Transylvania and then…well that's all I have planned so far," said Charlie as he told his plans to the table. Everyone sat in a stunned silence.

"That sounds wonderful son!" boomed Arthur as he got up from his chair and gave his second eldest son a handshake.

"Charlie I'm so proud of you. That is a wonderful plan," said Molly with a sob as she too got up from her chair and gave her son a bone crushing hug.

"Cool we get to see dragons," Ginny said excitedly to Harry who too was grinning with delight.

"Sobenaş is bound to have some rare and wonderful items that we could use for the production of some of our new products," said George to Fred as Fred took a sip of butter beer. "My thoughts exactly George," he then said happily.

"A 1 w-w-week vampire t-tour?" stammered Ron to Hermione as he gripped the tablecloth tightly. Hermione rolled her eyes, "yes Ron…1 week. Don't tell me you're scared," she then said with a light teasing tone. Ron rapidly composed himself and then shook his head fiercely, "No I'm not!" he practically shouted.

* * *

Charlie waved goodbye to the crowd that had gathered at the front door to the hotel to see him off. Molly and Arthur shouted their goodbyes to their son and once he had apparated away they shoed everyone back into the luxurious hotel.

"I think it is about time to go to bed," Molly said motherly to the group. "Oh mum it's not even late yet!" Ginny whined to her mum as she was pushed up the stairs to her room. "We've been travelling all day and we need our sleep," Molly said with a firm voice to her only daughter.

"But we're old enough now to know when we are tired," moaned Fred and George in unison as their father tried to force them to go to their room. Molly glared at her twin boys and suddenly they seemed ready to go to bed.

"Good night everyone," Molly said as she watched her children and their two friends head grumpily up the grand stair cases to their rooms. "I think you and I should head to bed too Mr Weasley." Arthur looked at his wife fondly, "I think you're right Mrs Weasley," he then said with a yawn.

* * *

Hermione folded up her clothes and placed them into her suitcase. Her silk pyjama shorts floated lightly around her as she then hopped into her double bed and dragged the fluffy duvet up over her body. Her cloth pyjama tank top was soft against her skin which was a vast difference to that of the top which had worn for the trip.

"I'm glad to be out of that t-shirt. For some reason the material just seems to irritate my skin!" she said to Ginny who was in the double bed beside her and wrapped up in her duvet.

"I think you should toss it out," Ginny said sleepily. She then rolled over to face Hermione. "Do you fancy going swimming in the pool tomorrow?" she asked her best friend. Hermione pondered this and then answered Ginny, "Yeah that sounds good."

"I hope you and Ron don't argue too much on this trip," Ginny then said with a sleepy sigh. Hermione smiled into her soft pillow, "I don't think I can guarantee that. He's already said something to me about Charlie carrying my bags into the hotel and up to the room." Ginny leaned up on her elbow, "You've got to be kidding me?" she said in disbelief. "No I'm not," Hermione said dryly. Ginny seemed to growl in anger, "But he didn't even consider taking your bags up for you. He just ran on ahead with Harry!" she said as she seethed, "He's just so idiotic," she added.

"It's alright I sorted him out don't worry," Hermione said as she felt tiredness tingling in her eyes. "Let's just go to sleep," she then said and with that she picked up her wand from her bedside table and plunged Ginny and herself into darkness.

* * *

**A/N:** So there you go another chapter finished and hopefully in the next one you will be able to see Charlie getting on rather well with Hermione hahaha wink wink please Review with your comments :D


	4. Why won't he notice?

Hey there everyone thanks for reviewing my chapters :D! I'm posting another one and I would like to dedicate it to **Let's Call Her The Tarryn** because she is amazing and special and has given me hope hahaha.

_Disclaimer: Do you think if I wished hard enough...I could own Harry Potter?? Guess not D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Four: Why won't he notice?**_

Hermione woke the next morning with a smile on her face. That had been the most comfortable night's sleep she'd had for quite a while. She heard Ginny pottering about in the bathroom and knew that she must have only gotten up.

"Morning Gin," she called out with a yawn. Ginny poked her head around the bathroom door and grinned at Hermione. "Morning! Hope you're ready for some breakfast?" she said vivaciously.

Hermione and Ginny made their way down the stair cases and walking into the dinning area to get their breakfast. It was 9 o'clock in the morning and Molly and Arthur were the only ones sitting at the table. Hermione and Ginny chuckled; the boys must still be asleep.

"Good morning girls," said Arthur cheerfully. Molly smiled pleasantly at them and then told them to go up and get a nice big breakfast. As they left the table Hermione heard Molly muttering to Arthur about 'lazy boys.' A few minutes later Ginny and Hermione made their way back to the table and sat down to eat their breakfast.

"Why that's so very healthy of you Hermione dear. I think I will try that tomorrow morning," said Molly as she seen Hermione tucking into a bowl of muesli with a fruit salad next on her eating agenda. "No Molly I'd much prefer Ginny's breakfast," said Arthur as he grinned proudly at his only daughter who was helping herself to a full English breakfast. "Imagine…a full English breakfast in Romania," Arthur laughed as Ginny gobbled up a piece of bacon.

"Morning all," came the voice of the twins from behind their mother. The four people that were already occupying the table greeted the twins and they too went and obtained some breakfast.

At 15 minutes to 10 o'clock Harry and Ron finally came sauntering into the dinning room after having been rudely awakened by Molly apparating into their room to get them up before breakfast finished at 10. They got their breakfast and sat at the table, both looking very tired indeed.

"Get much sleep?" Hermione asked Ron with a sly grin. Ron gave her a very grumpy glance and then shook his head dejectedly. "Me and Harry sat up most of the night playing Chess," he said as he poured salt onto his fried egg. Hermione tried not to heave as she looked at Ron's breakfast. It was so fatty and greasy she was sure he wouldn't be able to pick any of it up with his fork.

"Did you win any games sweetie?" Ginny said softly to her extremely tired other half. Harry sniggered quietly and nodded his head happily.

"So what's the plan for today?" George suddenly enquired to his parents. Arthur shrugged his shoulders and looked at his wife. "We're just going to stay in the hotel today and indulge ourselves," Molly said peacefully to the table. George looked at Fred and they both shared identical smirks. "Just what we were thinking mum," they said and with that they got up and left the table. Molly gaped after her two sons and shouted after them "No mischief! You're 23 not 13!"

* * *

An hour and a half after their breakfast Hermione and Ginny were found getting ready to go into the hotel's large swimming pool. Hermione was fastening the back of her black bikini while Ginny was stepping into her pink and white polka dot bikini bottoms.

"Are you ready?" Hermione asked Ginny as she made sure her top was secure. Ginny gave her the thumbs up and with that they both made their way out to the pool. Hermione dipped her big toe into the water to test it. It was lovely and warm so she flipped her short, curly hair behind her back and dove elegantly into the water.

"Oh the water is amazing!" Hermione said as she came up from under the water. "Yeah it's fantastic I could stay in here all day!" Ginny said enthusiastically as she wiped water from her eyes. They then started to do lengths of the pool until something caught their attention. Molly went dashing past the swimming pool window, her hair flying out madly behind her. They then heard her shout "For the love of God! You're 23! Stop doing that!"

* * *

"I think this steam room is better than the pool!" Ginny sighed as she felt the sweat dripping from her body. Hermione agreed with her and sighed blissfully. It had taken her a couple of minutes to get used to breathing in the hot, wet air but now that she had adjusted herself to it, she was so relaxed she felt as if she was going to melt.

"Hey guys you don't mind if we hide out in here for a while with you?" said a familiar voice from the door to the steam room.

"Sure Fred no problem," Hermione said as she felt Fred sit down next to her. George soon followed him and he sat down beside his sister.

"So what did you do that upset mum so much?" Ginny said as she ran a hand across her forehead. George and Fred looked at each other through the steam and then chuckled maniacally.

"Nothing too spectacular. We just let off a few fireworks in the tennis courts while a class was taking place. We're saving the best things for the Vampire tour Charlie was talking about," George informed the girls as he made sure his trunks were fastened tight to his body. Hermione heard Ginny giggle but she however couldn't help but squirm as worry crept into her mind.

"You don't need to worry Herms; we'll just be attacking Ron, dad and mum. We wouldn't dream of scaring you anymore, not after what you did to us the last time," Fred whispered into her ear. Hermione sighed and then started to converse with Fred about the mischief that he and George had gotten up to when they had been in school.

* * *

Hermione held her wand to her head. She muttered a simple spell and her hair dried rapidly into its loose, elegant curls. She then brushed her short hair quickly and turned to see if Ginny was ready to go and have lunch.

"I'm coming, just give me a minute," Ginny called out to her from a changing cubicle. Hermione grinned and turned back to the mirror. A thought struck her and she then bent down and took out her make-up bag. The only thing she ever really wore was concealer but at this moment in time the urge to put on a little more make-up than she was used to had taken hold of her.

"Nothing too drastic though," she whispered to herself as she started to apply a light pink eye shadow to her eye lids.

A few moments later Ginny finally emerged from the cubicle to find Hermione adding some finishing touches to her eyes. "Wow Herms you look great…may I enquire as to why you've had this sudden change in heart?" Ginny said in an almost teasing manner. Hermione smirked at herself in the mirror. "It wasn't a change in heart. It was more like…an urge. Besides I rarely wear this stuff so why not wear some for a change while on holiday," she said as she placed the bag of make-up back into her swimming bag. "Is this for Ron?" Ginny said as she too put on some make-up. "I'm not saying that it is and I'm not saying that it isn't," said Hermione with a laugh.

* * *

Hermione and Ginny walked into the dinning area once again to obtain their light lunch and to Hermione's surprise Charlie was sitting with his parents.

"Hey there ladies," he said cheerfully as they sat down at the table. "I thought we weren't going to see you today?" Ginny said to her older brother with a surprised tone. Charlie sighed heavily and put his arm around his sister, "I can't actually stay long Gin. I'm on my lunch break and decided that I had better come and see you all. I just can't get enough of you people," he said with a quick glance at Hermione which went unnoticed by her.

"Aw that's really sweet of you! Herms what do you want for lunch I'll get yours for you while I get mine," Ginny said chirpily. Hermione, who had travelled into a world of her own, jumped suddenly at Ginny's voice and she looked at her in a rather baffled fashion.

"Oh…sorry…could I please have a cucumber sandwich. Thanks Gin," she said as she regained her thoughts. What had she been thinking about? As Ginny went to obtain their lunch Molly and Arthur bid goodbye to their son and informed Hermione that dinner was at 7 o'clock.

"You're looking very pretty today Herms. I think the only time I've ever seen you wearing eye make-up was at Bill's wedding," Charlie said as he took in Hermione's appearance. She was wearing a white tank top, a pale pink scarf around her neck and denim ¾ length trousers with a pair of white flip-flops on her feet. Hermione felt a familiar heat rise up her neck, "Thanks Charlie. I just felt like wearing some today," she then said as Ginny came back with her sandwich and a glass of pumpkin juice.

"It really suits you," Charlie then whispered to her as Ginny went to get some napkins. Hermione's eyes widened, was that a compliment? From Charlie?

Suddenly her mind was taken off Charlie as Ginny sat down at the table again and Ron and Harry entered the dinning area.

"Charlie! I didn't think we'd see you today mate!" Harry said with delight as he seen Charlie sitting at the table. Ron went up to his brother and slapped him on the back as a greeting. "Yeah good to see you bro," he then said with gusto.

"I'm here on a lunch break, but sadly my time is almost up and I have to go back to the reserve now. So I'll see you guys tomorrow and can I ask one of you to remember something for me?" Charlie said as he got up from the table. Everyone simultaneously looked at Hermione and she in turn rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Yes what is it?" she asked Charlie.

"Could you remind my mum to tell you all the 'rules' please," he said politely to the intelligent witch. Hermione nodded her head and with that Charlie left and apparated back to the dragon reserve.

* * *

Hermione huffily removed the make-up from her face and then threw herself onto her sumptuously soft double bed.

"How could he not have noticed?" she groaned angrily.

"I haven't a clue! Everyone noticed! You hardly ever wear make-up," Ginny said in an equally annoyed voice. "I'm glad you didn't say to him though," she then added. Hermione glanced at her best friend. She was right, if she had of said something to Ron about not noticing then it would have resulted in another argument and Hermione knew that Molly wouldn't have been happy if an argument between the couple had broken out.

The girls then suddenly heard a knock on the door and then heard Ron's voice travel into the room.

"Hermione? I need to ask you something?" said his voice. Hermione stared at Ginny in shock and Ginny urged her to go to the door. So Hermione go up and threw her light, silk dressing gown over herself and answered the door.

"What is it Ronald?" she asked her idiotic boyfriend.

"I was wondering…" he said as he fiddled with his t-shirt, "were you wearing make-up today?" he then asked. Hermione stared at him, mild horror taking hold of her brain. She then felt her blood pressure rising and her temples started to throb.

"You're only noticing now?!" she shouted and then slammed the door shut on his nose. She then stomped over to her bed, climbed in and buried her head under the covers. She then heard Ginny sigh angrily and turn out the lights in the room.

'Why won't he notice anything that I do?' Hermione pondered angrily to herself. 'Why is it always his brother that will notice first and he notices last?' she thought as she felt herself drift into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

  
**A/N:** So there you have it another chapter up :D Gah...anyone have hayfever? I do and it's _killing_ me at the moment lol...curse it! Anyways please Review with all of your comments, ideas, suggestions...whatever!! :D


	5. You buy? You buy?

Good Day everyone!! Chapter 5 is all yours...I hope you all like it :D. I would like to thank everyone for reviewing and I hope that I will be able to satisfy you tastes with this chappie :).

_Disclaimer: I WANT IT! But can't have it :(_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Five: You buy? You buy?**_

The next morning at breakfast it was obvious that there was tension between Ron and Hermione. Molly sighed to herself as everyone seated themselves at the table with their breakfast.

"Does everyone remember the 'rules' that I went over last night?" Molly asked the table as she tried to ignore the glares that were being shared between the arguing couple. Everyone confirmed that they knew the rules about going into the town of Sobenaş.

"I'll say it again just so I can drill it into your heads," Molly said with a glare in the direction of her twin boys, "You must not venture out on your own, you must stay in the main city at all times and you do not go down any side roads or paths. Am I understood?" A chorus of 'Yes' was heard from the table and Molly smiled and let everyone tuck into their breakfast.

"Are you going to talk to Ron at all today?" Harry asked Hermione as she ate a piece of apple. Hermione chewed the apple into a pulp and then answered Harry. "I don't know. He might not notice me talking to him." Harry glanced at his best friend who was desperately trying to talk to George to avoid having to look at his girlfriend.

* * *

At 11 o'clock Charlie met the group of people outside the hotel. "Is everybody ready to go?" he asked the group who were adjusting themselves with their belongings.

"Yes son we're ready to go," said Arthur to his second eldest son. Charlie smiled and then looked at the group again. "Right so you all know the rules now let's apparate," he said and with that the whole group thought of their destination and with a loud 'pop' they disappeared and reappeared in the main street of Sobenaş.

"It's so rustic," said Hermione in awe as everyone took in their surroundings and started to walk. Along the main street there were hundreds of stalls selling all different forms of items. Hermione heard Fred and George muttering to each other behind her and she knew that they were planning something. What they were planning she didn't know and quite frankly she'd like to keep it that way.

Charlie took lead of the group and he showed them around the main part of the town of Sobenaş. He told them a brief history of the town and how it had grown over the years.

"It still isn't as developed as anything we know but in the wizard section of Romania…this is developed. I don't know much about the muggle area so don't bother asking me," he said as they travelled along the street. Molly, Ginny and Hermione stopped many times to admire the many jewellery stalls and perfume stalls that the main street had to offer and eventually the men got sick of their shopping instincts and decided that it was for the best that they all split up for a while.

"Remember don't go down any side streets and don't go off by yourself," Charlie called out after the group of men that were now heading off in the direction of the food stalls.

"Charlie dear why don't you go along with your father, we'll be fine," Molly said warmly to her son. Charlie gaped at his mother. "I don't think so; this is no place for three beautiful women to be wandering around in. I'm here to protect you and guide you. I don't mind going to the feminine stalls…really," he said as he put an arm around his mother and gave her a squeeze. Molly started to fawn over her son and while she did this Ginny and Hermione went to a stall.

"Wow this jewellery is so amazing!" Ginny said as she picked up a necklace and examined it. Hermione agreed as she looked at a stunning bracelet made of silver and rubies.

"That would look exquisite on you," Hermione heard a voice from beside her say. She felt the heat rise up her neck and into her face yet again as Charlie gave her another compliment. She glanced at Ginny who was now in conversation with her mother and then turned back to him.

"Thank you but I don't know if I should get it. I don't understand this Romanian currency at all. So I don't know how expensive it is," she said as she set the bracelet back down. Charlie chuckled smoothly and he picked up the bracelet and looked at the price. "It's not that dear. It's only about 25 sickles and 3 knuts. Quite a bargain if you ask me," he said in his handsome, deep voice. Hermione looked at the bracelet in shock. How could something so gorgeous cost so little money?

"You buy?" questioned the witch who was behind the stall. Hermione looked at Charlie who nodded his head. "Yes I will thank you," Hermione said making up her mind. She got out her purse and gave the woman the money and then left the stall.

Molly then took them to a perfume stall that she had seen when they arrived. "I really must get some perfume, the stuff that I have is running out and by the looks of it I can get some here for cheep," said Molly with glee as she sampled some perfume.

"Ginny you must smell this one," said Hermione as she shoved a bottle under Ginny's nose. Ginny inhaled deeply and her eyes fluttered closed. "That smells amazing, I might get that actually," she said serenely as she inhaled the liquid once again.

"I think you should try this one Herms," said Charlie as he handed Hermione a bottle. Hermione took the bottle off him and breathed in the liquid and the smell that registered in the brain was simply enchanting. It smelled like wild flowers and cinnamon.

"Your boyfriend make good choice. Perfume made in mountain by elves, would suit young lady well. You buy?" asked the witch who was manning the perfume stall. Hermione gaped at the lady and then started to stammer, "H-h-he's not my boyfriend."

"Then should be! You buy?" the woman exclaimed in her heavy Romanian accent. Hermione started to laugh nervously. She looked at Charlie who was now looking fixedly down the main street. She then looked back at the witch and then looked at the price. If she remembered what Charlie had said about her bracelet then she could figure out how much this perfume was. After a moment of quiet deliberation she figured out that the bottle cost about 6 galleons, 23 sickles and 7 knuts. It was far to dear to buy so she declined the witch, set the bottle down and proceeded to head on to the next stall which featured arts and crafts.

* * *

The men met up with the women at a Romanian restaurant 1 hour later and they all decided it was about time for lunch so they headed into the restaurant. Hermione sat herself down at the table and before she knew it she was being tapped on the shoulder.

"Can I sit there?" asked Ron. She blinked at him and then nodded her head.

"Listen Herms I'm sorry I didn't notice your make-up," he said in a sorry manner.

"It's alright Ron. It doesn't matter. I was silly to get angry," she said as Ron took hold of her hand. He then smiled at her and asked her what she had purchased from the stalls. She showed him the bracelet and he agreed that it really was a pretty bracelet and that he couldn't wait to see it on her. Unbeknownst to the couple Charlie had overheard the conversation and he couldn't help but smile sadly to himself. He then got the better of himself and reminded his over active imagination that she was his brother's girlfriend and that all he could ever be to her was a friend. He then smiled happily; glad to know that he would always be able to talk to her.

"May I take order?" asked a Romanian waiter to the table. Arthur checked to see if everyone was ready to order and when he got the go-ahead he started his order.

"I will have the Carp in Beer please," he said to the waiter.

"The Leek with olives and chicken."

"Little meat balls."

"Roasted Mutton leg."

Once everyone had ordered Charlie leaned across the table to Hermione and said "Nice order there. I just hope you'll be able to eat it all." Hermione smiled sweetly at him and then started to engage in conversation with Ron who had been tempted to order another dragon steak but when he'd gotten a stern look from Hermione he quickly changed his mind and ordered something else. After their lunch the ladies went on to do another 2 hours of shopping. Charlie remained with them once again and made sure that nothing happened. Once everyone had gotten their fill of the town they all headed back to the hotel and stayed there for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Before I go I just want to give you all some instructions for tomorrow. Everyone has to wear old clothes and shoes. Girls, no perfume or sparkly jewellery and you have to tie back long hair. Fred and George I will strip search you if I have to before you go into the reserve so I'll tell you this now…don't bring anything which the dragons could ingest, smell, touch or whatever. You've been warned. Also you won't need any money everything is on me. Now go and get a good night's sleep because you have to be alert in the reserve…going to see dragons isn't a walk in the park you know," Charlie said to the group who were waiting at the door to see him off. Hermione waved and shouted goodbye as Charlie then got ready to apparate to the dragon reserve.

"Well you heard him…everyone go to bed right now!" exclaimed Molly whenever her son had apparated safely.

"But mum it's only half past 9!" moaned Ron as he walked back into the hotel. "There will be no arguing. Charlie has organised this trip for us and we will do our best to go by everything he tells us so get to bed!" said Molly in a firm tone. Everyone knew from her voice that she would not be crossed and so went peacefully to their rooms.

* * *

"Dragons…can you believe it?" asked Ginny as she hopped into her cosy bed. Hermione could feel the girls' excitement and couldn't help but get excited herself.

"I know it's going to be amazing!" she said eagerly as she turned out the lights. She heard Ginny snigger and turned to face her.

"What's so funny?" she asked perplexedly. Ginny sniggered for a couple of minutes before she said "Ron's going to shit himself when he sees those dragons!" Hermione couldn't hold in her giggle. The image of Ron running and hiding behind Molly was utterly hysterical. "Looks like I'll be on my own again," she said with a sarcastic sigh.

"Oh no…everyone knows Charlie won't let anything happen to you," Ginny said with a laugh and with that she turned on her side and started to drift off into sleep. Hermione however became confused. What did Ginny mean exactly and why was she so relaxed when she said what she did? Did she know something Hermione obviously didn't?

**A/N:**Another chapter finished...please reviews with all of your opinions and I will gladly answer any questions you have :D! Mmmm I'm eating noodles (random I know but I love noodles!)


	6. A Terrifying Incident

Okay so I couldn't wait to put this one up hehehe! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, my imagination kind of got the better of me lol. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!!

_Disclaimer: I had that dream again...you know that one in which I thought I owned Harry Potter D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Six: A Terrifying Incident**_

"Ginny get your hair tied back Charlie will be here at any moment!" exclaimed Molly Weasley as she fussed over her only daughter. Hermione quickly glanced at her watch before she started to fiddle with her short, wavy ponytail. It was almost 1 o'clock; Charlie would be arriving in a matter of moments.

"Fred…George…turn out your pockets!" she heard Arthur say to his twin boys, "All of them!" she then heard him yell. Ron was tying his laces and Harry was fiddling with his own hair when everyone heard a small pop. Charlie then started to walk up to the hotel and when Hermione seen him she couldn't help but admire him. He was wearing a white t-shirt which was brown in areas with dirt and burn marks were scattered about it. It hugged close to his body and was able to show off his muscular body very well. His denim jeans were also dirty with muck and the burn marks were more apparent than on his t-shirt. His feet were clad in simple black canvas trainers which Hermione thought was quite odd and his hands were covered in thick gloves which Hermione figured were made of dragon skin.

"Affernun," he said rather thickly. Molly picked up on his change in speech quickly and was soon over pawing at her son.

"What happened?" she asked desperately. Charlie chuckled and forced his mother off him and then said "Un uff the dragons waz playin' up this murnin' and I got cipped in the face by its tail. I got our famous healing putiun unn my face su I shuld be alright in abut half an hur ur su," he said still rather thickly, he then added "Is everyun ready tu gu?"

* * *

"Is everyone together?" Charlie called out to the group that was surrounding him. Molly confirmed that everyone was present and so they started to walk forward. "I'm sorry about this but everyone has to get this done," Charlie said as he walked through, what seemed like, a force field. "All this spell does is scan your body for any foreign artefact's that may be on yourperson. It will then forcibly remove any artefact's that it finds," he said as he walked straight through the force field with ease. Fred and George simultaneously gulped and hurriedly started to take things out of their socks, secret pockets in the back of their jackets and from, what Hermione thought, their underwear. Charlie gave them a glare but couldn't help but smile afterwards as Fred and George practically ran through the field.

"I'll take you all now to get your clothes and shoes fixed," Charlie said once everyone had passed through the field. Hermione gave him a puzzled stare and he gave her a wink, "Have to make sure your clothes and shoes get a spell put on them. It will make them as hard as armour, but as light as a feather," he informed her. Hermione said as small, quiet "Oh" in realisation. She now knew why Charlie was wearing the clothes that he was. They had been magically enhanced to protect him from the dragons and their temperamental ways.

* * *

"Ron! Harry! Stop hitting each other!" Molly exclaimed as they made their way with Charlie to their first destination. Ron and Harry promptly stopped hitting each others bodies with stones and walked behind the group silently. "Honestly," Molly sighed heavily as she heard her son Charlie chuckle in enjoyment.

"Behold one and all…the baby dragon pen," Charlie then said as they reached their destination. The three women who were in the group gave a loud awe as they entered an extremely large stone building and noticed the baby dragons that were scattered about the place.

"Will they harm us?" asked Ginny as a baby dragon hovered past her head. Charlie, who was still walking ahead of the group, turned his head to look at his sister. "A majority of them could only give you a mild bite but there is a few which will set you on fire but for security reasons, today they have been placed in a separate building," he informed his sister as he led them into a separate room where a large quantity of meat was kept.

"I've decided to let you see the baby dragons first. They are pretty much harmless if you treat them right and don't tease them. However for safety reasons I must tell you all that they can all bite you and a few of them can produce little flames, ice or whatever. I will be present at all times in case something doesn't go to plan but other than that feel free to go and play with them," Charlie said to his family and friends. The group excitedly thanked Charlie and excited the stock room and into the baby dragons pen.

"Have they all just hatched?" asked Hermione as a yellow baby dragon flew around her head excitedly. "Some of them have. Most of these dragons were either abandoned by their mother or were in danger of being killed by other dragons. There are still babies out there with their mothers in the reserve. If you haven't noticed yet there are currently no Hungarian Horntail babies in this pen," Charlie told Hermione as he cradled a white dragon in his arms. Hermione nodded her head in amazement and then looked at the dragon Charlie was holding. It was sleeping peacefully and its scales were pure white.

"What is this little guy?" Hermione said as she cooed over the dragon. Charlie looked down at the sleeping animal and smiled warmly. "This little fellow is an Arctic Ice Breather. He was bred from an Arctic Ice which we found stuck in the highlands of Scotland. She took a fancy to one of our 4 male Arctic's and well this little guy was the result," he said affectionately. Hermione couldn't help but admire Charlie's intense love for dragons and she smiled to herself as she stroked the dragon's head.

"His name's Siegfried. Would you like to hold him?" he asked the besotted witch who was looking fondly at the dragon. Hermione's head snapped up and she looked him directly in the eyes. His eyes were such an incredible shade of blue she was sure there was no name for the magnificent colour. "Really? That would be amazing," said Hermione audibly as she tried not to loose herself in those tantalising eyes. Charlie handed her the sleeping baby dragon and then had to hurry off to help Ron, who was being molested by a baby African brown dragon that was trying to eat his flaming red hair.

'He's your boyfriend's brother…you shouldn't be gazing into his eyes the way you were. Bad Hermione,' Hermione mentally scolded herself as she gently rocked the bundle in her arms.

* * *

After a quick cup of tea Charlie then led his 'tour group' to a huge open field surrounded by magically enforced barbed wire.

"I wouldn't get too close to that fence," Charlie warned as he seen Fred and George eyeing up the magical fence. "It's strong enough to cut right through any human," he said as he then watched Fred and George back away slowly from the wire.

"Where are you taking us now?" asked Ron who was holding Hermione's hand. "This is the 'Dependant' area. This area is for dragons that are basically out in the wild but depend on us for food. It is feeding time now so be prepared to see some odd sights," Charlie said as he made his way over to very large stock room which was beside the fence. He then emerged from the stock room and went over to a gate in the fence with many carcases consisting of horse, cow, pig, sheep, deer and moose floating behind him. He then placed these carcases in different areas in front of the fence and got out of the field as quickly as he could. No sooner had he closed the gate, the roar of many dragons was heard in the distance.

"Dragons have an amazing sense of smell," Hermione pointed out to Ron who had now gone ridged. Everyone who was accumulated in front of the fence then noticed in the distance, numerous amounts of dragons flying, running and jumping towards them.

"There's the Japanese Ridgeback. They usually tend to eat the horse meat," said Charlie fondly as they seen a blue and red dragon ripping apart a horse carcase. "Oh is that a Maltese Water Shooter over there eating that sheep Charlie?" Hermione asked as Ron now cowered behind her back only daring to take quick peeks at the dragons.

"Yes it is…I didn't know you knew how to identify dragons Herms," Charlie said in disbelief as he looked at the young witch who was now gazing at the other dragons behind the fence.

"Oh I read a book once about dragons and there were several chapters in it on how to identify the different species," she said smartly as she pointed out a dragon to Ginny.

"You really are the most intelligent witch of our time aren't you?" Charlie said with a deep laugh. Hermione grinned without looking at him and continued to point out dragons to Ginny and the cowering Ron.

* * *

"This is the largest part of the reserve were we keep the 'Untouchables'. These are the dragons which can fend for themselves and do not rely on us for food or shelter. The only time we touch them is when we believethey are sick and need medical attention or we need to capture them to send them off to a different reserve," Charlie said knowledgeably as he and the people around him stood on a high ledge behind a large see-through wall. For several minutes the group stood and stared at nothing but after a few moments of silence Charlie leaned over a said quietly to Harry, "Can you see that big dragon over there in the distance by that oak tree." Harry nodded his head as everybody leaned in closer to hear what Charlie had to say. "That's the Hungarian Horntail which you faced in the Triwizard Tournament." Harry shivered visibly at the though of his first round in the Triwizard tournament and Ginny put an arm around him to comfort him.

"Look Charlie there's a Caribbean Ruby coming toward us!" Hermione exclaimed as silently as she could. Charlie's head snapped away from the Hungarian Horntail and put his full focus on the dragon Hermione had pointed out. He then whispered something to his wand and suddenly 10 dragon keepers apparated to their side.

"Everyone get to a safe distance. This is the dragon that we had the trouble with this morning," Charlie said urgently as he and the other dragon keepers leapt into action. The dragon took flight into the air and headed straight for the wall. "It's still immune we'll have to stun it!" shouted Charlie as the dragon flew towards them at a tremendous speed. The sound of stunning spells was heard all around and Hermione was finding it hard to keep her wits about her. Ron had left her side and was rapidly running for cover.

'Why do I have to be such a crap runner?' she thought wildly to herself as she started to lag behind the others. The dragon flew straight through the see-through wall and headed straight for the group which was now hiding behind a large rock.

"Hurry Hermione!" shouted Arthur Weasley as the dragon grew steadily closer to them. All of a sudden a cry was emitted from the dragon as the 11 keepers successfully stunned the beast.

"HERMIONE JUMP!" yelled Charlie as the dragon plummeted straight to the ground. The dragon crashed to the ground just as Hermione jumped to her left but it seemed as if the dragon had landed on her.

"HERMIONE!" came a loud yell from everyone in the vicinity as they started to run towards the stunned dragon.

"Harry…Fred…George get back, let us handle this!" yelled Charlie as he ran to the dragon's body. In a matter of moments he and his colleagues managed with a huge amount of effort to levitate the dragon 10 feet. Hermione was then found curled up into a tight little ball and shaking violently.

"Hermione!" cried Charlie as he ran to her and bent down to her shivering form. He heard the hard sobs emitting from her and placed a hand tenderly on her back. "Herms it's stunned now. It won't hurt you," he said softly to her quivering form. Suddenly before he knew it Hermione flung herself into his arms as wave after wave of sobs hit her. He fell onto his knees and held her close to him in comfort. He ran his hand smoothly up and down her back and whispered soothing words into her ear as the girl continued to weep uncontrollably.

* * *

"Ronald Weasley how could you have let go of her hand!" yelled Molly Weasley as she and her family waited for Charlie to come out of his office. Hermione was in there with him and for a short period of time now she had managed to control her sobbing. Ron hung his head low as his mother continued to yell at him.

"She was lucky to have been under that things hand," Ginny said as she buried her head into Harry's shoulder. Harry, Fred and George nodded their heads silently and waited patiently for Charlie to bring Hermione back out to them.

"Arthur say something!" Molly shouted in the direction of her husband. "I must agree with your mother son. What you did was selfish and cowardly," said Arthur in a voice not even the twins had heard him use.

Hermione sat on a high bench with a warm blanket draped around her shoulders. She hiccuped softly as she watched Charlie and another on of his colleagues search for something in his office. It hurt when she hiccuped and every time she did Charlie looked at her earnestly.

"I could just heal myself you know…I am a trainee healer," she said dryly as Charlie flung open cabinets and drawers. Charlie looked at her rather sceptically as his colleague stepped out of the room to inform the others what was happening.

"No I won't let you do that. I have this really great stuff that only we dragon keepers can get," he said in voice which he was desperately trying to make sound cheerful. Hermione remained grim as he brought out a big tub of jellied potion. He looked at it for a couple of moments and then glance from the tub to Hermione and then back to the tub again.

"We need to put some on your face, it needs to be rubbed into the back of your head and…it needs to be rubbed onto your back and onto your stomach," he said sheepishly as he felt his ears starts to tinge with red. Hermione coughed lightly and felt pain shoot down her back. "Would you like me to get my mum in here to put it on?" Charlie asked as he tried to refrain from turning red. Hermione hugged the blanket closer to her body and then looked at the worried dragon keeper.

"You can do my head and face if you want but I'd like your mum to do my abdominal area if you don't mind," Hermione said as she held a hand to her aching head. Charlie nodded his head and opened the tub of potion.

* * *

"So if you could please accept a cash sum and our apology for this incident," said Charlie's colleague who had introduced himself as Hans. Arthur and Molly looked astonished by what Hans had told them after he had came from Charlie's office.

"So that dragon seems to be immune to every repelling spell that is put into place?" Molly said with astonishment. "Yes it seems so. We will have to contact other dragon reserves in the world and inform them of our problem and to ask them for their help. Now that this young lady has been harmed it must be reported and put under the category of 'vital importance'," Hans said as he reiterated what he had said to the Weasley family.

"We understand all that you have said to us and we will accept your apology. Of course we won't press charges, we wouldn't dream of it. Thank you for all you are doing for Hermione," Arthur said as he shook Hans by the hand.

"There! That's your head done…now for your…back," Charlie said with a light cough as he helped Hermione down from the bench. She then turned away from Charlie and made sure no one could see in the window as she started to ever so carefully take off her top. Charlie looked away in consideration of Hermione's privacy and then looked at her again once she informed him that she needed to get back up onto the bench. He looked at her and immediately went red as he seen her fragilelyclutching her top against her chest to conserve her dignity. His hands shook ever so slightly as he put them on her delicate waste and lifted her up onto the high bench.

"Herms…I-," he started to say but was interrupted by Hermione as she coughed lightly again.

"Ouch," she mumbled as she clutched her t-shirt to her chest. "What were you saying there Charlie?" she then asked him, again in a dry tone. Charlie's eyes widened slightly, she looked to frail sitting on the bench waiting for him to rid her of her pain.

"I think I should get my mum now," he said gently as he set the tub down and went to the door. Hermione nodded her head slightly as she began to feel the effect of the potion setting in.

"Mum?" Charlie called as he poked his head out from behind his office door. Molly, who had continued to shout at Ron after Hans had left them, turned at looked in the direction in which the voice had came from.

"Could you come in here please? I need you to put some of our miracle potion onto Hermione's back," Charlie said in a quiet manner as his mother walked up to him. He did want to keep Hermione's decorum intact and he didn't want to ruin it by stating to his family what needed to be done to heal her.

* * *

20 minutes later Hermione came out of the office with Molly who was holding her elbow to help support her as she walked towards the group.

"Herms!" said Ginny in a relieved tone as she seen Hermione grin at her. Charlie who had been standing with his twin brothers looked up and seen that Molly was steering Hermione in his direction.

"Everything go alright? My mum didn't hurt you too much did she?" he said in a calm voice as Hermione gave him a small smirk. "No she was very gentle. She has a healers touch," Hermione said in stronger voice than that she had used in the office only 20 minutes earlier. "You should be fine again in the morning," Charlie said to her as he took over from his mother and supported her by placing his two hands gently on her small elbow. Molly went over to Arthur and muttered something to him and he then smiled in a reassured fashion.

"Hermione!" said a worried voice from somewhere to Hermione's right. Hermione turned her head, which was now almost fully recovered and noticed her 'loving' boyfriend making his way towards her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her as he stopped beside her and took hold of her elbow. She glared at him and then said in a firm voice, "I would have been had you not let go of my hand." Ron's mouth dropped and he then looked at his older brother who was looking at him in a very ashamed manner.

"I have nothing further to say to you," she said as she jerked her elbow out of his grasp and walked on with Charlie and the remainder of the Weasley's.

"Harry," Ron said as his best friend walked past him with his girlfriend. Harry simply gave him an reluctant glance and walked on with Ginny leaving Ron to tag along behind the group.

* * *

**A/N:** OOO I loved that Chapter I don't know about you lol. Tell me what you thought in a review and I will get the next chapter up post haste :D


	7. Start acting like it!

Heylo again my dear friends! Another chapter written especially for you all :D. I hope it meets your standards and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all of your reviews!!

_Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Seven: Start acting like it!**_

Hermione woke the next morning feeling strangely wonderful. She sat up in her bed and coughed to test to see if she was better. The potion had worked, she was able to breathe, cough and probably hiccup effortlessly without any form of pain. She looked toward the bed beside her. Ginny was already up and dressed and was nowhere to be found in the room. She then looked at her watch and seen that it was 15 minutes to 11 o'clock. She'd missed breakfast and no one had considered waking her up to see if she was hungry. Suddenly she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called out, glad that she had her voice back to normal.

"It's me…Ron," said the voice from behind the door. Hermione stopped running her fingers through her short, wavy, bed-head hair and glared at the door. "Go away Ronald!" she shouted.

"I've brought you breakfast," Ron said innocently. Hermione's gaze softened and she remembered the argument that had occurred the night before.

_**Flash Back**_

"Leave me alone Ron!" Hermione said as she made her way to her room after dinner. "No we need to talk about this!" Ron shouted after her as she walked, for the first time since the incident, unaided. Hermione stopped suddenly in the middle of the hall which her room was located on and turned to glower at her boyfriend.

"We do not need to talk about this. There is nothing to talk about. You abandoned me and I ended up under a dragon's fat, scaly, smelly hand," she said scathingly. Ron started to stammer something to her as she stalked off again and went into her room. Ron followed her and entered her room and seen that she was getting ready for bed.

"Ron! Get out I'm getting changed," Hermione yelled as she secured her silky bed shorts to her body.

"No we need to talk!" Ron said firmly as he went towards Hermione. Suddenly the couple heard a rap at the door and a voice asking for entrance. "Go away!" yelled Ron. Hermione glared at him, "This is my room Ronald! Come in!" she called out to the person behind the door. Charlie poked his head round the door and seen Ron glaring at him.

"This is a bad time I can see. I'll come back," he said politely. Ron agreed with his brother rudely but was interjected by his girlfriend. "Oh no Charlie it isn't really. Ron was just leaving," she said slightly aggressively to the man who had practically saved her life.

"You have no business here Charlie go away," said Ron crudely to his brother but Charlie however ignored him and walked into the room. "What is it?" Hermione asked him politely as she sat down on her bed. Charlie sat down beside her and smiled at her kindly. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I left. But first I wanted to ask you how you're feeling now?" he asked in a gentlemanly manner. Ron watched in placid horror as Charlie and his girlfriend conversed affectionately with each other. After he could take no more he burst and shouted at his brother, "Charlie I'm her boyfriend, you aren't so shove off!"

Both Charlie and Hermione looked at him in mortified fashions and then, as if they were twins, they gave him identical scowls and said at the same time, "Oh really? Well why don't you start acting like it?" They then looked at each other with shocked stares and then Charlie said suddenly, "I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Get better okay. Bye," and with that he practically ran from the room and down the corridor. Ron followed him and stared after him down the corridor. He then made to go back into his girlfriend but before he could even set foot into the room Hermione slammed the door shut on his nose.

_**End flash back**_

"Can I come in?" said Ron as he knocked on the door again, bringing Hermione out of her reminiscing. She pondered for another moment and then heard her stomach give a loud gurgle.

"Alright," she then called out tentatively. She heard the door click open and then heard Ron walk into her room rather cautiously. She watched his every move as he walked over to her bed and handed her the tray which contained a bowl of porridge, a fruit salad and a steaming cup of tea.

"You know you've gotten my mum into all of this healthy stuff," Ron said quietly as Hermione started to eat her bowl of porridge. Hermione glanced at him and continued to eat. He shifted awkwardly; obviously the memories from last night were still fresh in his mind.

"It's our free day today…would you like to do anything?" he asked as he desperately tried to make conversation with his silent other half. Hermione continued to eat her breakfast slowly and then thought of something to ask her babbling boyfriend.

"How did you know I'd like this for breakfast?" she asked as she swallowed the porridge. Ron blinked at her for a moment or two and then answered her, "Fred told me…why?" he replied, holding his breathe just in case he'd done something wrong. Hermione felt her blood bubble and her temperature rise but she forced herself to remain calm. After almost two years he still had to ask what she liked for breakfast. No matter, at least he'd had the decency to remember to bring her some.

"I was just wondering," she said quietly as she finished her porridge and started to eat her fruit. Ron breathed again, he was sure she would have shouted at him or something. "Herms?" he then asked. She looked at him as she ate a large piece of banana and waited for him to speak again.

"Are we alright?" he asked nervously. Hermione swallowed the banana and set down her utensils. "We're alright…for now. After what you did yesterday you are on seriously thin ice. One more selfish, insensitive, stupid move from you and there will be trouble," she told him honestly. Ron mentally kicked himself and then took hold of his girlfriends' hands. "Okay, I promise I won't do anything else to upset you," he said softly and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. As Ron moved back from her cheek all Hermione could think was 'Yeah so you say.'

* * *

The free day passed by with ease. Charlie dropped in to see his family for 2 hours at lunch time. He told his mum that the dragon that had been involved in the incident was already being stunned to be sent away to another Dragon Reserve in America. He informed his dad on the times that they had to be ready for tomorrow as it was the beginning of their 1 week Vampire tour of Transylvania. He played a quick game of exploding snap, Fred and George style, with his twin brothers. Ginny had demanded that he went flying for a while with her, Harry and Ron and finally he just had to see how Hermione was doing.

"Don't you look comfortable," he said in a humorous tone as he found Hermione sitting outside on a sun bed, under a parasol, reading a book. Hermione looked over the top of her sunglasses at the person who had talked to her. "Hi Charlie, good to see you," she said as she marked her place in her thick book.

"Glad to see you're up and about," he said as he pulled over a chair and sat himself down on it. Hermione smiled and placed the book on her lap. "I know what you're going to ask," she said as she interrupted Charlie who had just opened his mouth to speak. "So you're psychic now?" Charlie said with a laugh as Hermione chuckled along with him.

"You could say that. I'm fine…the potion worked wonders. The bruising faded on my back just before I went to bed and my respiratory system was fully functional when I woke up," she informed him.

"Good thing I know what the respiratory system is or else I wouldn't have had a clue what you just said. You Healers I tell you…always speaking your medical jargon," Charlie said as he ran his fingers roughly through his flaming red locks.

* * *

"So this tour doesn't start until the afternoon?" said Fred to his mother as they all ate their dinner. Molly nodded her head as she cut into a piece of salmon. "So we'll still be on this tour when it gets dark?" Ron said anxiously with a glance at his girlfriend who was seated beside him.

"Don't tell me you're a chicken Ronald." Hermione did love to tease him when it came to scary topics of conversation. His ears turned their trademark pink and he started to babble about how he wasn't scared and that he was just curious to know.

"Charlie told me that tomorrow will just be a tour of some of the castles in the region. It's the shortest part of the tour so we will probably be back before dark tomorrow," Arthur said to the table as he set down his knife and fork to take a drink. This seemed to ease Ron and he went back to eating his dinner. As Hermione ate a piece of lettuce from her salad she started to feel excited about going to see the castles. She'd always loved history but the history of magic that they had been taught in Hogwarts was just a part of history that she had never really been interested in. She'd always had an interest in the vampire world. Even when she was a little girl and didn't know that she was a witch she'd always loved hearing vampire stories from her grandfather.

"Tomorrow should be interesting," she then said to Ginny who was sitting to the other side of her. Ginny agreed with her and they finished their dinner with gusto.

* * *

**A/N:** Crap ending I know but I couldn't think what else to write lol. Tell me what you think in a review. And I know you all want to see some Hermione/Charlie kissing action or whatever but that won't be coming for a while sorry D: but that is what my plot states. A certain event will happen and then there will be KISSING :D!


	8. The Party tricks of a Vampire

**Good Day** to you all! I'm sorry for the slow update! I went on a surprise camping trip there for a while so I didn't have access to my beloved computer, or toilet, or shower or bed lol! To all those who want Charlie and Hermione to get together PRONTO...I'm sorry but it won't be happening for a while yet...I'm not planning it to happen until one of the teen chapters (yes this is a surprisingly long fic!) So I'm sorry for that lol but there are like hints along the way so please don't give up on me just because they won't get getting it on until later on in the story!

_Disclaimer: Dear Diary: Once again I do not own Harry Potter!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Eight: The party tricks of a Vampire**_

"Has everyone got their things?" Molly said loudly so that the people before her could hear. Hermione rummaged through her handbag to make sure she wasn't missing anything. Once she had confirmed with herself that she had everything everyone was ready, so all they had to do was wait for Charlie. After a couple of moments of silent waiting a small pop was heard and Charlie was then seen walking towards them. Once again Hermione couldn't help but admire the sight of Charlie coming towards her. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt which was covered by on open dull green, partially checked shirt which rippled about his body as he walked. On his legs he wore fashionably tattered jeans and his feet were once again donned with canvas shoes, only this time they were maroon. His hair was messily spiked with styling potion and once he reached his family Hermione could smell his cologne. The scent of fresh pine was absolutely tantalising. As Charlie greeted everyone she couldn't help but notice that his style was much different from that of his brothers. Whereas Charlie had a cool, laid back style, Fred and George had a rather illustrious style and Ron…well in Hermione's opinion he had no style at all.

"You're looking well Herms," said Charlie as he gave her a one armed squeeze. Hermione breathed in the smell of fresh pine and grinned up at him. "Thank you, I'm feeling marvellous," she said as she relished in the scent.

"I can't wait to go on this tour of the castles. I know that at least you will be able to discuss them with me. No one else in the family really seems to care about this part of the tour," Charlie said in an excited voice. Hermione noted that Ron was glaring at his older brother who still had his arm around her.

"I think it's about time to go," said Arthur to his son who promptly let go of Hermione. "Yeah it is. Don't want to be late," and with that a loud simultaneous pop occurred.

* * *

"Good afternoon. My name is Vladimir and I will be your tour guide for this week," said a tall, pale and rather foreboding man to his new, mainly red headed tour group.

"Wow what a name," Hermione heard Fred and George snigger to each other. She too giggled silently and went back to listening to the tour guide speak.

"Today…I will be showing you some famous vampire castles," said the guide in a slow, Romanian English accent. He was a clear speaker and Hermione had no trouble understanding him as his English was impeccable.

"Before we go on the tour are there any questions that you wish to ask me," Vladimir asked his group. Ron timidly put his hand in the air and Vladimir quickly acknowledged him. "Are there any vampires in these castles?" he asked fretfully. Vladimir gave a low grumble which Hermione deciphered as a laugh. "Yes my dear boy…these castles are their homes. During the day however they are tucked up in their coffins in the basement of their castles which have been secured until dusk with a magic spell…just in case they wake up," the guide said to Ron who quaked slightly. "Oh that is so cool," Ginny whispered to Harry who in turn nodded his head. Vladimir then checked to see if there were anymore questions and then smirked at his group. "Now could you all please think of the first castle name on the list and we will apparate there promptly," Vladimir instructed. The group looked at the first castle name on the list and then apparated to the castle.

"This castle is owned by Countess Petronela who purchased it in 1804. The castle was built in the late 17th century and has all of the characteristics of that time," Vladimir stated. He was very well-educated in his field and Hermione couldn't help but gaze around the interior of the castle with wonder. As he continued to ramble on about the castle Hermione started to look at the paintings on the wall.

"You've found Countess Petronela I see," Charlie said from behind her. Hermione stared at the painting of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. She had jet black hair and very pale skin. Her lips were ruby red and her eyes were the colour of shining sapphire. "She's beautiful," she whispered. "Yeah she really is. She's a vampire model. All of the latest vampire fashion is modelled by her. You wouldn't think she is over 200 years old," Charlie said as he to gazed at the spectacular painting. Hermione giggled, vampires were so lucky that they got to stay beautiful forever, but she couldn't help but think that the countess must get terribly lonely.

* * *

"H-Herms!" came a sudden stuttering from behind Hermione as they walked up to the entrance of another castle. "What is it?" Hermione said aggressively to the pain in her neck that had been annoying her since the tour had started. Ron clutched onto the back of her thin, black cotton cardigan and peered behind his shoulder. "It's d-d-d-dusk!" he stammered irrationally. Hermione glanced at the horizon and then said in a very sarcastic manner, "Yes Ron, it's dusk when the sun sets...very good!"

"Do you realise what castle we are at?!" Ron exclaimed as he clutched onto her even more tightly. Sudden realisation grabbed hold of Hermione just like Ron was grabbing hold of her cardigan.

"Welcome…to Castle Dracula," said Vladimir with a maniacal laugh. In Hermione's mind thunder and lightning sounded and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "Count Dracula?" she whispered fearfully, "I thought he was a fictional character."

"That's what the muggle's believe. The book on Count Dracula was actually his autobiography," stated Vladimir, who had heard what Hermione had said, darkly. 'Oh shit,' Hermione thought as they entered through the giant wooden doors.

"Who goes there?" came a sudden ominous voice as they stood in the gargantuan front hall.

"Count…it is I Vladimir. I have brought a group here to see your lovely home," said Vladimir as if he was speaking with a casual friend. A wisp of smoke formed in front of Vladimir and Hermione watched as the smoke formed into the body of a man.

"Good evening," said Count Dracula in a smooth voice to the group. The three women in the group seemed to loose control of their focus as they stared at the man standing before them. He had sleek, jet black hair and was the colour of milk. His eyes were like lumps of glistening coal and his teeth were pearly white. His body was relatively tall and very well built and he was dressed in clothes that Hermione thought were from the middle ages. He was the most stunning specimen of a man she had ever seen and for some reason she just wanted to go over and ravish him.

Vladimir emitted a cough and this brought the three salivating women out of their, what seemed to be, trances. "Ladies and gentlemen…I would like to introduce you to the most famous and most powerful vampire in the world. Count Dracula," he then said in a low, honourable tone.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Count," said Molly as she twirled her fading hair around her finger. Arthur nudged her gently and she took her focus off the elegant vampire.

"The pleasure is all mine," said Dracula in an accent Hermione was unfamiliar with. "If you'd please follow me I'd be glad to show you around my home," he then said coolly. The group followed the vampire up an old grand stair case and into a room that was the size of the Great Hall in Hogwarts.

"This is my living area," said the vampire in an offhand fashion. Many noises of admiration were heard and then Ginny piped up "Count Dracula sir this room is as big as the great hall in Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry!"

Dracula gave a smooth chuckle and gazed deep into Ginny's eyes. "Yes I've been told that many times," he said in a tone which made Ginny forget that she even had a boyfriend.

"Mr. Dracula…are you going to suck our blood?" said Ron in a very stupid and frightened voice. At the statement the vampire gave an exasperated sigh and looked and the frightened red head. "I've been asked that many times too," he said monotonously. Hermione sighed and placed a hand to her forehead in embarrassment. "No need to be embarrassed young one," said the vampire as he went over to Ron who was still cowering behind Hermione. Her head snapped up and met the pitch black eyes of the famous vampire. "How did you-," she began to ask but he placed a pallid, cool finger on her lips and whispered in her ear, "I can read your thoughts." For a split second Ron forgot his fear and glared at the creature that was now whispering in his girlfriend's ear but when Dracula looked back up at him he went back to hiding.

"I do not drink the blood of witches or wizards. No vampire does. The magic in their blood is like a poison to us and so therefore we cannot drink it," he said majestically as he returned to the front of the group to continue the tour.

* * *

At the end of the tour count Dracula took them all back to his enormous and very well decorated living area.  
"When one has lived for the greater part of 1000 years one does pick up a few party tricks yes," Dracula said in a humours tone to the Weasley twins. The twins looked eager to see what the vampire was going to do and when he got up they practically got up with him. "I know each of your blood types and as you came walking up to my front door I already knew your names," said the ancient vampire in a refined manner. Hermione, who was seated beside Charlie and Ron, tingled with anticipation. The vampire started to walk around the group. He started with Arthur, "Your name is Arthur Weasley and your blood type is…," then Dracula went right up close to the wizard and seemed to smell him. "Your blood type is O positive," he then stated as he stood up and went on to Molly. "You are Molly Weasley and you blood type is……A positive," he said as he repeated what he had done with Arthur. Molly tittered in excitement as she confirmed that he was right. He then went round the rest of the Weasley family and stated their names and that their blood type was either their mother's or their fathers.

"Ahh Harry Potter. Someone who is actually more famous than I in the wizarding world. We finally meet. I can tell that your blood has been touched by evil, which in turn you overcame. I applaud you. Your blood type is…B negative. A rare blood type indeed," The count stated to Harry. Harry smiled politely at the Vampire who then moved towards Hermione.

"Finally…Hermione Granger. A flower of this world if there ever was one. Your blood type is…AB positive. Only a small fraction less rare than Mr. Potters," said the Count in, what could have been determined as, a seductive tone.

"That's incredible," said Hermione who flushed lightly. Dracula flashed his pearly white teeth at her and she managed to catch a glimpse of his infamous pointed canines. She tensed slightly at the sight and Charlie who was beside her prodded her lightly and gave her a calming smile.

* * *

"Good night Charlie bear!" cooed Molly to her son as he left them back at the hotel. "Mother! Don't call me that!" how he hated it when she embarrassed him in front of people, even if it was his family.

"Yeah good night _Charlie bear_," said Fred and George in unison as they both clapped Charlie on the back. 'Damn it' Charlie thought as he went to physically threaten his twin brothers. He caught a glimpse of Hermione and stopped in his tracks. Fred and George would suffer another time. As everyone went into the hotel he asked her to wait behind.

"What did you think of today then?" he asked her casually. Hermione folded her arms across her chest as a light breeze flew past them. "It was really interesting! Count Dracula was so nice. I never expected him to be like that. I always heard stories about him from my grandfather when I was younger and well…he scared the crap out of me!" she said as she voiced her opinions to the second oldest Weasley sibling.

"Yeah he was really nice. He has a great rapport with witches and wizards. The only wizard he couldn't get along with was you-know-who. They hated each other," Charlie said with a laugh. Hermione laughed and then gave a happy sigh. "What's happening tomorrow?" she then questioned him.

"Well it just so happens that our tour has fallen in with Dracula's annual ball. It's for vampires, witches and wizards. It's usually invite only but because we are in a tour group with Vladimir who is really good friends with the count we get to go along too," Charlie said with glee. Hermione's jaw dropped, "Are you being serious?" she said in an almost speechless fashion. Charlie gave her a wink and gave her the thumbs up. They then heard a cough coming from the door to the hotel and seen Ron standing there with a dark look on his face. Hermione groaned inwardly and turned to look at Charlie again. "I got to go now Charlie but I'll see you tomorrow," she said and with that she gave him a quick hug and went into the hotel.

"You spend too much time with him," Ron said fiercely as he and Hermione made their way to the lounge/bar area in the hotel. "Oh I didn't know I could spend too much time with the man who saved my life!" Hermione said viciously as they made their way up to the bar to order drinks. This swiftly shut Ron up and they both ordered a butter beer.

"Guys over here!" a voice called to them. They seen where Ginny, Harry and the twins were sitting and went over to them with their drinks. "So you heard about the ball right?" Ginny quickly said to Hermione as she sat down. Hermione told her Charlie had told her and they then started to converse about the ball.

"Mum told me and I just flipped…I've nothing to wear and we can't go into Sobenaş to get anything, we won't have any time. I know we don't have to go on the next part of the tour until tomorrow afternoon but by the time we get to the town and find something we actually like out of the 50 million stalls we'll have missed the ball let alone the tour," Ginny said frantically as the boys started to converse about Quidittch.

"Now that you mention it I don't have anything to wear either but I'm sure we'll manage," she said as she sipped her butter beer lightly. Ginny merely groaned and continued to drink her own butter beer.

"I don't know what you girls are complaining about anyway, just the fact that you get to go should be enough," Ron said as he got sick of hearing the girls talk about clothes. Both his sister and his girlfriend shot him glares that surely could have killed him.

"Shut up Ron!"

* * *

**A/N:** Another chapter finished!Please tell me what you thought of it in a review :D Please and Thank you! Love xxx


	9. At the Vampire Ball

Because I went away on my camping trip I'm giving you all two chapters :D How nice am I lol! (I'm not really I'm just grovelling)

_Disclaimer: Own nothing D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Nine: At the Vampire Ball**_

"I wish we could go into town," Ginny moaned as she and Hermione lay out in the scorching Romanian sun. Hermione, who had been deep in thought, peered over at her best friend through her sun glasses. "Like I said we'll manage," she reiterated to the groaning red-head. She then sighed and closed her eyes. The sun felt great on her skin but she was starting to get just a little bit too warm.

"Girls! Come in now and get ready!" came the echoing voice of Molly from across the hotel garden. Hermione and Ginny huffed and puffed as they got up from their beds, slipped on their flip-flops and made their way into the hotel to get showered and dressed.

* * *

Like the day they went to the dragon reserve and on their first day of the tour a small pop was heard and Charlie was once again seen walking towards them as they waited at the entrance of the hotel. This was starting to become Hermione's most favourite part of the day, because she could get to admire Charlie without anyone interrupting her. Today he was clad in a light grey t-shirt which had something written on it in Romanian. It clung to his body and Hermione swore she could see a six-pack beneath the material. He wore on his legs a pair of light brown, knee length combats and a pair of ankle canvas shoes on his feet. Today they were a charcoal colour. His hair was styled in a messy fashion once again with styling potion and Hermione couldn't help but wonder where he got his wonderful sense of style from.

"Afternoon everyone, we'd better hurry up and get to Vladimir so he can take us on the next part of the tour," he said cheerfully as his mother went to give him a big hug. Hermione felt Ron grasp her hand suddenly as Charlie came towards them. She got the sudden feeling that Ron was like a lion protecting her, his lioness, from another older, stronger lion. She grimaced as Charlie passed them to go and talk to his sister.

"Okay lets go," Charlie called from behind Hermione.

* * *

"Today we will take a journey through a genuine Vampire village," Vladimir told his tour group as they walked into a small village with many different houses. "Most muggle's believe that this is a haunted and deserted village and so do not venture here," he said as he point around the apparently 'deserted' village.

As Vladimir informed them about the town Hermione felt Ron's hand tighten around hers as Charlie walked past them with Fred and George. Charlie peered around at her and gave her a puzzled look and glanced at Ron's hand which was like a vice around hers. She merely shrugged at him and he shrugged back and continued on with his brothers.

"Now we will go back to Count Dracula's castle and prepare for the annual ball," said Vladimir in his slow Romanian accent. Ginny came bounding over to Hermione and grabbed onto her hand as they prepared to apparate. Ron took this as his cue to let go of his girlfriend and went to stand beside Harry. Hermione discreetly rubbed her hand on her jeans as Ron had left it rather sweaty. With a single pop they then arrived at the entrance to the castle just as the sun had set.

"Enter if you dare!" came a loud booming voice and a maniacal laugh. Vladimir sniggered and then said lightly, "That Dracula…such a joker."

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you again," said the Count as they entered into his castle. He bowed low to the ladies and then said to them, "I know that you've been thinking that you have nothing to wear for the party. Please feel free to wear one of my many dresses that I have collected over the years," he said to them in a civil manner. "After 1000 years one does tend to have many wives that leave dresses behind," he said somewhat enigmatically. Molly, Ginny and Hermione thanked him gratefully and then were shown by Vladimir to the room where the dresses were kept.

Count Dracula then turned to his remaining guests and said politely, "You must excuse me for I have to step out for a moment. I haven't eaten in several days and have gotten rather hungry. If you are worried about what to wear to the ball feel free to borrow some of my clothes. Vladimir will also show you where they are," the vampire said and with that he transformed into a large bat and flew out of an open window.

"That was so creepy," Ron said after the bat had gone out of sight. "Ron you're just a big pansy!" Fred said with a laugh as they waited for Vladimir to return.

* * *

Hermione was awestruck. The amount of gorgeous dresses present in the room was innumerable and she was allowed to choose anyone she wanted.

"Look he's sorted them into which century they are from," Molly said as she looked through dresses from the 14th century. Hermione felt butterflies in her stomach as she looked at dresses from the 19th century. The excitement of the ball was getting to her and these dresses were really getting her going. Ginny was practically bouncing off the walls when she found a beautiful bottle green dress in a pile of dresses that was labelled 16th century.

"I found my dress!" she exclaimed as she ran to try it on. "Me too," said Molly in a girly fashion as she too went to try on a dress. For another couple of minutes Hermione scanned through the dresses and finally came across an immaculate dress from the 13th century. It must have belonged to royalty at one point because if she could remember her history well, dresses like this didn't usually belong to common folk of the time. It was a long, elegant, dark purple dress with silver lining and long sleeves. It had a rounded neck and was made of a surprisingly soft material. She draped it over her arm and then went to try it on to see if it fitted her.

Charlie, Arthur and Harry waited in the foyer for the women to come down from getting dressed. The ball had started and elegant music was being played throughout the castle. Molly and Ginny were the first to appear at the top of the stair case and Charlie gave them a polite smile. "You look lovely mum," he said as his mum and sister went into the large ball room, with their partner, which was just to the right of the foyer. He waited almost impatiently now as he waited for the final woman to come down the stair case. When he seen her he couldn't help but let his heart skip several beats. She looked absolutely stunning in a dark purple dress which had silver lining. Her short hair fell loosely about her neck and she was wearing what looked like silver eye make-up and black eyeliner with mascara.

"Herms…you look…stunning," Charlie said as Hermione made her way over to him. She smiled shyly at him and then asked him a question she'd been burning to ask since she seen that it was only Charlie waiting for her.

"Where's Ronald?" she asked as calmly as possible. Charlie sighed and rolled his eyes. "He's in scoffing his face with food, so I thought it would be only good manners if someone was here to greet you and take you into the ball room," he said as he linked his thumbs into his blazer pocket. Hermione groaned, "Typical," she muttered to herself. She then noticed that Charlie was holding an arm out for her. She was glad she was wearing light blusher as it was able to conceal the light flush that was creeping up her face. Ron would never have offered his arm to her as freely as Charlie just had; _she_ always had to grab _him_.

"Shall we?" he said in a gentleman like voice. Hermione couldn't help but giggle as she took his arm. "What?" Charlie asked as he too started to chuckle; he always felt that Hermione's laugh was contagious.

"It's nothing lets go in, I'm dying to see how everyone looks," she said as Charlie started to lead her into the ball room.

* * *

Hermione sat at the edge of the room sipping a glass of rosé wine lightly as she watched the elegant people around her dancing and enjoying themselves. Ron had once again disappeared off to the food table and left her sitting by herself in a room where she only knew a handful of people.

"Would madam care to dance?" came a silky voice from behind her. Hermione clutched her glass of wine and glanced behind her to see who was asking her to dance.

"Count Dracula? Oh thank you sir I would love to dance," she said in an almost shocked fashion. The ancient vampire gave her a glittering smile and went around to offer her his hand. She took it rather eagerly and almost recoiled at how cold he was, but she got the better of herself and got up and started to dance with the vampire.

"You look stunning," Dracula whispered in her ear as they waltzed about the dance floor. Shivers flew down Hermione's spine as she felt his cool breath on her ear. "That dress belonged to my wife Sofia. I met her in 1270 and she was without a doubt one of my favourite wives, I loved her deeply. Her beauty resembled yours," Dracula continued to whisper.

'1270? He's loved her since then?' Hermione thought sadly to herself. "Yes I've loved her since then," Dracula stated to her as he twirled her gently. "Excuse me Count but did I allow you to read my mind," Hermione said playfully, the fine wine must be going to her head.

"You have her spirit," he then said with a dry chuckle as the dance came to an end. "It was a pleasure dancing with you Miss Granger. Some day you will see who truly deserves your hand," said the famous blood sucker and with that he seemed to rapidly disappear into the crowd. Hermione was dumbstruck as she stood in the middle of the dance floor. 'Some day you will see who truly deserves your hand?' she thought wildly to herself but before she could elaborate on her thoughts Ron came bounding up to her.

"Let's dance," he said as he took her hands in his greasy ones. Hermione nearly gagged as she felt her hands slip in the grease of the food he had been eating.

* * *

Hermione drunk the last dregs of her wine as she once again sat and watched the dancing couples on the floor. Her head was slightly dizzy and she couldn't think properly but the worlds that Count Dracula had so bluntly said to her still rang around in her mind.

"Don't look so glum…look where you are!" exclaimed someone who had plonked themselves down on the empty chair next to her.

"Hey Charlie, I thought you were on the dance floor," Hermione said without even looking at him.

"I was but then I seen you sitting here getting drunk all by yourself whilst my idiotic brother stands and stuffs his face with pork," he said as he ran a tanned hand through his stylish hair. Hermione looked at him, "He's only danced with me twice tonight," she said glumly. Charlie put a sympathetic arm around her delicate shoulder, "It's alright. Just think of it this way…Count Dracula only danced with 4 people tonight and you were one of them," he said to her as he took a fire whiskey from a floating tray of drinks.

"Really?" she said in a tone that told Charlie she was more than astonished. "Yeah really. He danced with Countess Petronela, Madam Harlington, Madam Svahnstrom and you Miss Granger," he informed her as he sipped at the fire whiskey. Hermione pondered what Charlie had told her inside her slightly fuzzy head but before she could come to any conclusions she noticed Charlie had gotten up and was holding his hand out to her.

"Would Miss Granger like to dance with a lowly man like me," Charlie said jokingly. Hermione gave him a sparkling smile and took his hand gratefully. She had to control herself as her hand made contact with his because it was vastly different to that of Count Dracula's and Ron's. Whereas Dracula's hands were cold and smooth to the touch and Ron's had been hot and greasy, Charlie's were warm, soft and had a firm grip.

"Charlie your hands are really soft," se stated as the words seemed to tumble out of her mouth.

"Thanks, once I started getting big, dirty calluses just below my fingers I had to start using moisturising potion because what woman wants to hold a hand which is rough and dry. But you don't know that okay," he said as they danced gently to the soothing music. Hermione barely managed to suppress a giggle and gave him a reassuring wink; they then continued to dance without uttering another word. Hermione, who had her hand on Charlie's muscular bicep, started to relish the fact that he was a much better dancer than Ron, who tended to step on her feet. Charlie, who had his hand tenderly resting on her lower back, simply started to relish the fact that Hermione was dancing with him.

"Oi! Let go of my woman!" came a sudden, crude shout from across the room. The music stopped abruptly and everyone stared at Ron who was staring at Hermione and Charlie. Hermione felt something inside her snap and her face went bright red and burning tears started to well up in her eyes. She practically flung herself away from Charlie and ran out of the ball room. Ron glared at his older brother who was staring at the door Hermione had just left through. Charlie then turned on his brother, "Can you not just let her have a good time!" he exclaimed and then ran after the terribly embarrassed woman, shouting her name as he went.

* * *

**A/N:** OOOOO Scandle :D I love it don't you?? Review please and thank you :D :D :D


	10. Flesh, Blood and the Eternal Soul

To you I say Good Day (well good night really as it is night time where I am at the moment - it's 1:07am! I know what am I doing up at this time right?) I just thought i'd give you all another chapter as I am very eager to get this fiction into full swing lol (I know you're probably thinking 'what? it is in full swing you have 10 chapters ffs,'...but I've written more than that just to be ahead of myself and I seriously want to get more chappies up!) So thank you to all of my reviewers and good night to you all! I will apologise now for any errors as I am very sleepy!

_Disclaimer: YAWN...I own nothing!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Ten: Flesh, Blood and the Eternal Soul**_

"Hermione wait!" called Charlie as he caught a glimpse of Hermione running through the front doors of Castle Dracula.

Hermione kept on running. She'd heard Charlie call her but she wanted to be alone, she'd never been so embarrassed in her entire life, how could he do something like that to her? As she ran down the dirt path which lead away from the castle she felt a hand grasp her wrist. She stopped and was turned to face the person who had caught her.

"Herms please don't run anymore," said Charlie soothingly as he placed his other hand on her slender shoulder. Hermione tried hard to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She was better than this, she should just go back up there and slap Ron, but somehow she couldn't move her feet.

"I've never been so…embarrassed in all my life!" she spat out bitterly as Charlie tried to calm her down.

"Don't be embarrassed, Ron's just drunk and full of food. He doesn't know what he's saying. He's just an idiot." If he could try to get her laughing then she might just calm down, but Charlie had no such luck. Hermione just groaned angrily and turned away from him as the hot tears that she had been holding back started to slip unconsciously down her cheeks.

* * *

"Ron I can't believe you!" Ginny screamed at her brother as she and the rest of the Weasley family paced around a room that Vladimir had shown them to. Ron looked at his sister in a puzzled fashion as his head spun in his drunken state.

"What?! He was canoodling with her on the dance floor! She's my girlfriend!" he said, slurring his words. Molly, who was too shocked to say anything, broke her silence that she had been holding since Vladimir had taken them to the room.

"Ronald Weasley," she said darkly, everyone in the room seemed to shrink away from her, "_You_ embarrassed that poor girl. She was simply dancing with your brother, who was kind enough to ask her to dance. _You_ left her sitting alone at the side of the dance floor while _you_ stuffed _your_ face with food and drink and when your brother asks her to dance, just to give her some company, _you_ have to spoil it by making a fool of her and _your whole family_!" she said with her voice getting louder and louder with each breath she took.

"You should be ashamed," Arthur said as he went over to his wife to comfort her. The entire Weasley clan glared at Ron and then he turned to Harry who was fidgeting with his shirt. Harry looked up at his best friend, his eyes full of something Ron couldn't quite make out. "Sorry mate but I can't help you with this one," he said as he tried to stop Ginny from pacing.

* * *

Hermione felt something being placed around her shoulders as she frantically wiped away her tears. She clung onto the jacket and felt Charlie's body heat warm up her cold torso.

"Do you want to go back in and talk to him?" Charlie asked her gently as he kicked stones on the dirt ground. The tearful woman shook her head and clutched the jacket closer to her body.

"Why not? The only way this will be sorted is to talk it over," the Dragon keeper said wisely. He'd encountered situations similar to this in the past and he hoped he'd be able to sort this one out like he had the others.

"I don't want to see him. He was on thin ice before we came here and now he has just plunged into a pool of icy, cold water," Hermione said venomously as she noticed her head was starting to pound. Charlie sighed in a frustrated manner and thought of something else to say. "But don't you want to get this sorted. It isn't nice to be fighting with someone you love…you do love him don't you?" he asked as he sat down on a particularly large rock. Hermione's breath caught in her chest and before she knew what she was saying she replied, "I don't know anymore."

"I think I'll need you to elaborate on that point," said Charlie in a stunned voice. Hermione couldn't see his face but she was sure he was the picture of astonishment at this point.

"Well I truly loved him when we were in Hogwarts and when we first started going out with each other," she said as she turned to face Charlie who she noticed was sitting on the rock she had been tempted to bash her head off.

"Right," said the second oldest Weasley brother as Hermione started to walk towards him.

"But when we had been going steady for about 6 months…our fights started to get more frequent and I found myself going off him but for the sake of duty I stayed with him," she said as she finally came to a stop in front of the humble dragon keeper. She looked into his eyes and finally realised what colour they were, lapis lazuli. Charlie gazed back at her and then questioned, "'sake of duty?'"

"I'd loved him since first year and I figured that if I left him when I wanted to it would have been a waste of basically…my life," she answered as she dropped her gaze and stared at the dry dirt. Charlie felt his heart break for the poor witch. She'd only stayed with his brother for a sake of duty. How could someone be so incredibly noble? He lifted his hand and placed his index finger under her soft chin and lifted her head up slowly so that she was able to look him in the eye again.

"I'm not going to tell you exactly what to do but I can give you two options," he said as he stared deep into her nutmeg eyes. "Either you can forgive him and go back to the way you've been living since your first year at Hogwarts or you can leave him and start living your life…there will always be people there for you."

Hermione pondered this over in her mind. Could she leave Ron? Something in her mind seemed to tug at her heart and she just couldn't bring herself to say that she would leave Ron. Charlie watched as the clogs turned in her head, he had a vague idea of what she would do but thinking about it made him feel miserable so he just continued to watch her.

* * *

Ron paced up and down the foyer. 'I should go out to her,' he thought as he walked to and fro. Suddenly the doors to the castle burst open and Hermione stood before him with a thunderous look on her face. Ron's face lit up when he seen her but when he noticed she looked about ready to kill him he backed away from her slightly.

"Ron," she said in a sinister way. Ron gulped and started to stammer to his girlfriend, "Herms I'm s-s-sorry for what I-I-I did. P-please forgive m-me."

"You embarrassed me in front of the whole ball room…just because your brother, they guy who saved my life from a tearaway dragon, had asked me to dance. I thought your jealously had stopped but it seems that it knows no bounds," Hermione said as she took a threatening step towards the stammering Weasley.

"I'll do anything to make it up to you…just please don't hurt me!" Ron said as he noticed Hermione had her wand in her hand. Hermione's glare towards her boyfriend deepened as she said "For the remainder of this trip you will let me do whatever I want without you butting in. I want you to lay off Charlie who is just trying to be a decent guy. I want you to show some manners when you eat! I don't want you to be selfish and lastly I want you to think before you say something. Only then can you earn some sort of forgiveness from me."

Ron nodded his head fiercely and ran over to her and put his arms around her in a large hug. "Of course!" he said as he then went to kiss her.

* * *

Charlie watched as Hermione and Ron kissed in the foyer of the castle. 'I knew she'd do that. What a noble person,' he thought to himself as a cool breeze blew past him. He stood at the front door of the castle and peered in at the couple until they went back into the ball room.

"Nice evening," said a renowned voice. Charlie turned to see Count Dracula standing beside him. "Yes it is," said Charlie downheartedly.

"You show much dignity when it comes to that couple," the Vampire said as he gazed into the night sky. Charlie smiled sadly and looked at the dirt beneath him.

"Take some advice from me. When it comes to matters of the heart you have to be selfish once and a while or else you will never get the person you love. Over the centuries this has become more and more apparent to me and I want you to see the same way I do," Dracula stated to the tanned red-head.

"You are very wise sir, but I couldn't do something like that to my own kin," Charlie said as he looked up at Vampire but to his amazement he had disappeared. He then heard a strange voice in his head, 'What is flesh and blood compared to the wellbeing of your eternal soul?'

* * *

Hermione was dancing with Ron on the dance floor when she seen Charlie enter into the ball room again. He looked over at her and gave her a wry grin and then walked over to the refreshments table and got himself a glass of punch. She rested her head on Ron's chest and winced as he stood on her toe once again. Memories of her dance with Charlie flooded back into her mind and how she wished that Ron was able to dance like he could.

'Some day you will see who truly deserves your hand?' the words Count Dracula had uttered to her raced around her mind and she couldn't help but feel that she'd made the wrong decision in choosing to forgive Ron for his senseless and selfish ways.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhh don't kill me for not making Hermione break up with Ron!! Please please PLEASE have mercy! It's just I have this one scene racing around in my mind where Hermione and Charlie kiss and it just doens't fit in anywhere yet so I'm working my way up to writing that scene!! Please review with all of your comments, conerns, quips...whatever xxxxx


	11. Besotted

**Hello** everyone! Chapter 11 of 2 weeks in Romania! Oh my gosh I didn't think I would have been able to write as much as I have lol. I hope you enjoy it lol. Thank you to all my reviewers...I love you all **:D**! xx

_Disclaimer: Dear Santa...please give me Harry Potter for Christmas! No? Damn IT!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Eleven: Besotted**_

3 days had past since the illustrious ball at Castle Dracula and the Weasley family were nearing the end of their 1 week vampire tour. Hermione hadn't forgiven Ron completely for embarrassing the life out of her but since then she and her other half were on good terms but Ron was still walking on egg shells.

The tour so far had allowed the Weasley clan to dive deep into vampire culture. The day after the ball they had been taken on a trip to see a vampire play and then to go and meet the vampires who starred in the production. The day after that they had went to a vampire museum which had been formed in 1708 and still consisted primarily of items belonging and to do with Dracula. After their tour of the museum they had been taken to a vampire dancing class which had caused many heated words to be shared.

"Fred…George! Stop doing that!" Molly had yelled at her twin boys who had tried to pull off another prank while they were dancing.

"Harry! That was my foot!" Ginny had screamed when Harry had accidentally stepped on her.

"Care to dance Herms? It seems my brother is just going to sit there in a huff all day and I really want you to be involved," Charlie had asked Hermione when he noticed that yet again Ron didn't want to take part and was dragging Hermione with him.

"No she does not!" Ron had said less than charmingly. Hermione had glared at him and then said intensely "I can dance with who ever I want to Ron!" These words from his girlfriend seemed to change his attitude altogether and all of a sudden he jumped up from his seat and dragged Hermione onto the dance floor.

"Yes of course you can but dancing with your boyfriend has much more meaning than dancing with his brother," Ron had said in a surprisingly cheery voice. Charlie groaned and flung himself down onto a chair and watched as Ron started to dance with Hermione and thus trod on her feet.

Today the tour took them to a vampire sporting event. Hermione had read before about how vampires prided themselves in being good sports men and women and she was positively humming with excitement as Vladimir showed them to their seats in a huge coliseum like building.

"I hear vampire sports are just more extreme versions of muggle sports," Ginny whispered to Fred as he and his twin bought some snacks. Hermione who was sitting behind Ginny, Harry and the twins leaned forward and told them, "Yeah that's true. They took the muggle Olympic Games and made their own version. Because vampires are far superior in their speed, strength and all round general abilities, a decathlon would be too simple for them."

"How do you know that?" George asked as he bit into a cauldron cake, already knowing the answer to his question.

"I read it in a book," Hermione said proudly, she then sat back in her chair and smirked to herself, feeling rather smug.

"Herms would you like anything to eat? I'm buying?" Charlie asked as he elbowed Hermione on the arm. Hermione pondered for a moment and then decided that she would have some genuine vampire taffy, the wizard variety, which contained no blood.

"Wow daylight…I mean midnight robbery!" Charlie exclaimed as he handed over the money for the items he bought and gave Hermione her taffy. Ron, who was on the other side of Hermione, glared at Charlie and grabbed a piece of taffy from his girlfriend.

"Did I say you could have any?" Ron's eyes widened at the extremely agitated sound of Hermione's voice.

"Oh I'm sorry honey…may I have some?" the words came out thicker than normal as he chewed the strawberry flavoured taffy. Hermione glowered venomously at the man sitting to her right and then said murderously, "It's too late now isn't it!" and then she shifted to her left and started to engage Charlie in a conversation.

"So you don't like anyone eating your taffy then?" Charlie said with a chuckle as Hermione bit into a piece of the chewy sweet.

"That," she said with a gulp, "and the fact he didn't ask."

"So if I asked for a piece now I wouldn't get one?"

"You would get one…but only because you bought them to me," she said with a laugh as she handed Charlie and extra large piece of chewy taffy.

* * *

"34 metres! A new long jump record has surely been made here in the Vamiseum," yelled the commentator as the crowd cheered for the male vampire who had just done the most incredible jump Hermione had ever seen.

"How did he do that?" Ginny shouted to Hermione as she turned to look at her. Hermione leaned down to her and told her how and Ginny's mouth formed a small 'o' and she then turned to Harry and started telling him how the male vampire had just achieved what he had done.

"Being smart again?" Charlie asked as the crowd sat back down in their seats and waited for the next event to begin. Hermione gave a proud smirk and nodded her head and told Charlie not to get too jealous.

"Me? Jealous of your smartness? Never!" he said dramatically. Hermione gave him a sceptical look and then Charlie admitted his defeat, "Alright I admit…your sheer brilliance greatly surpasses my humble dragon keeper brain!"

Hermione giggled and Ron looked at her and noticed she was laughing at something Charlie had said to her. He could feel envy burning deep in his stomach. He wasn't able to make Hermione laugh like and that and it killed him that his elder brother Charlie could.

"Say Herms…what's this event?" he asked in desperate attempt to take Hermione out of conversation with Charlie.

"This in muggle terms is known as the high jump. The athlete will run from an angle towards the high jump and then when they think the time is right will jump as high as they can to try and get over the high jump bar without causing it to fall," she told her boyfriend knowledgeably as he nodded his head in amazement. Charlie stared blankly at his brother who had interrupted his conversation with Hermione. Something seemed to stir in the back of his mind, was it jealousy? Of course it was. 'Stop it Charlie you know better than to be jealous,' he thought calmly to himself.

* * *

"That certainly was amazing. I would have never thought that Vampires were so dedicated to sport," Molly said to her husband as they walked through the doors to the hotel. Hermione yawned and started to rub her tired eyes. Her watch told her that it was half past 2 in the morning but her mind and body was adamant that it was much later than that.

"Tired?" Charlie whispered to her just before she went into the hotel. She tried to focus her bleary eyes on the dragon keeper but was finding it difficult. "A tip to make you sleep extra well tonight then. Drink some warm milk before you climb into bed and you'll find that morning will come quicker than it normally does," he said in a hushed voice as Harry and Ginny dragged their tired bodies past him.

"Since when did you turn into an old granddad?" Hermione asked him sleepily. Charlie winked at her and prodded his nose with his index finger.

"I just find that it works," he said wisely. Hermione gave him a watery smile and then told him that she was going to go on to bed.

"Night Charles," she said cheekily. She heard him gasp and then felt him grab her arm, "Don't call me that!" he said childishly. Hermione smirked and then gave him a quick, but not too quick, hug and went into the hotel to make her way up to bed.

* * *

Charlie practically jumped under his bed covers once he arrived back at his apartment at the dragon reserve. His mind was so foggy due to tiredness that he couldn't wait to fall into a deep sleep.

'You have to be selfish once and a while or else you will never get the person you love.' The words uttered to him by Count Dracula seemed to suddenly stick out in his memory and he slapped his hands to his face in agony. 'I can't be selfish when it comes to her!' he thought.

'Why not?' a voice seemed to reply back to him. It sounded exactly like she did.

'Because I want to do everything for her.'

'She is with your brother.'

'Yeah that's another problem.'

'You can be egotistical towards him can't you?' The voice used fancy words like she did too.

'I can but I don't want to.'

'Why not?'

'I'm not like that…and mum will see.'

'Don't you think your mum already knows how you feel?'

'I don't know?'

'Why don't you talk to her about it?' The voice made a good point. Charlie had always been able to talk to his mother about anything. Maybe he should tell her a little bit about how he felt towards the girl he was so besotted with and she could give him advice on what to do.

'I think you're on to something there.'

'Aren't I always?'

"You're a genius!'

'I know,' and as the voice in his head faded away so did Charlie's consciousness as he fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.

* * *

**A/N:** Woop Woop another chapter finished...thoughts anyone? Review and tell me what you thought and sorry once again that there was no kiss in this chapter!! I'm saving it until that certain scene in my brain can fit in...and it can't just yet...sorry **D:** Please don't be mad!!


	12. How long?

Hello to you all once again and welcome to chapter 12 of 2 weeks in Romania. I would like to thank all of my reviewers who always give me hope and happiness and I would especially like to thank **hphglover **for her review as it greatly lightened my spirits and gave me a heck of a lot of gusto** :D **ENJOY!

_Disclaimer: What I do not own it? Why!? Oh...that's why D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Twelve: How long?**_

Hermione could feel something poking her nose. What was that? Why was it annoying her? If she could only reach out for her wand she could zap the thing that was causing her to awaken out of her delicious slumber. She opened her eyes and screamed when she seen what…or rather who was poking her on her nose.

"FRED!" she screamed as she grabbed the book that was lying on her bedside table and hurled it at the mischievous twin.

"Ouch! Morning to you too Herms!" he exclaimed as he rubbed the side of his head where the book had connected with. Hermione glowered at Fred and when he sat down on her bed she clasped her bed covers to her body tightly.

"What do you want?" she asked him, cautious of everything around her.

"I was told to come and wake you up," he said innocently as he continued to rub his head.

"You?" it was hard to believe that he was the one who was sent up to her. "Yeah. Ginny and mum went out for a long walk and dad told George and I that you, Harry and Ron still had to get up. I took the liberty of waking you," the twin said proudly. Before Hermione could answer him back a sudden explosion was heard all round the hotel.

"What was that?" Hermione gasped as she jumped out of bed and ran to her door. She poked her head out to take a peek and three blurs suddenly zipped right past her.

"GEORGE! I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Harry as he sped in front of Ron who was starting to lag behind. Hermione heard George laugh manically from the bottom of the corridor and she turned to look at Fred who had doubled up with laughter.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked him, already knowing the answer. Fred wiped a few tears of mirth from his cheeks and focused his watery vision on the girl in front of him who was standing in her pyjamas.

"That was how we woke them up. Goo Blasters, our latest invention. All George had to do was apparate into their room drop the Goo Blaster and get the hell out of there. When it explodes green grunge flies everywhere creating quite the mess," Fred said, sounding like an advertisement. Hermione laughed merrily and thanked her lucky stars that Fred had decided to wake her up in a relatively normal fashion.

* * *

"More castle tours? Come on we did that at the very start!" moaned Ron as Hermione dragged him into another vampire castle. She shot him a glare and then stopped to listen to Vladimir.

"This is no ordinary castle," he said in his slow, but very clear, Romanian accent. "It is an adventure castle designed to create a journey." At this Ron's spirits seemed to brighten but not for long.

"In this adventure castle you will be split into pairs and will travel round the castle in search of the exit. I must warn you however finding the way out is not an easy task, for you must work in accordance with your partner. If you do this then all will go relatively smoothly," the Romanian wizard guide told his group who were now looking excited but fearful.

"Herms you're with me," Ron said as he grabbed onto his girlfriends arm. "Oh no she's not!" said Molly loudly. Ron looked at his mother with shock, horror and mild anger but Molly simply ignored her son and continued on, "She will be going with Charlie."

It took Hermione's brain several seconds to register what Molly had said and as she tried to process her thoughts Molly spoke again.

"If I let you and Hermione pair up then you will never get out of this castle because it is plain to see that you both cannot work together. Charlie however seems to have an excellent rapport with Hermione so he will take care of her while you mister will go along with Harry and Ginny." Molly knew this was the right thing to do. Splitting up the quarrelsome couple would make things a whole lot easier.

'She does know!' Charlie thought wildly to himself as his mother pushed Hermione towards him.

"That is NOT fair!" Ron yelled in protest. Molly gave him a look which made him back down immediately and then Vladimir spoke to his group once again.

"If we all have our partners then we shall begin. Please hand over your wands."

* * *

Hermione and Charlie walked in silence for a good 5 minutes before one of them spoke. "So which way do you want to go?" Charlie asked his silent partner as they came to a fork in their path.

Hermione pondered for a moment or two and then answered "I think we should go left." Charlie smiled warmly, "That was the direction I was thinking too!" Hermione chuckled and then felt their awkward silence disappear. As they continued to walk on they talked about many things including food, spells and smelly socks.

"Ron's feet do stink though I have to admit," Hermione laughed as they walked down a corridor which had no windows, no doors and barely any light. Charlie agreed with her and then stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Hermione asked him.

"Did you hear that?" he asked in a hushed voice. Hermione stopped in her tracks and started to listen. She couldn't hear a thing and then looked at Charlie sceptically. "I don't hear anything."

"Shh!" Charlie hushed her. Hermione started to feel nervous, was he trying to scare her? She waited and waited and when she started to feel impatient that's when the hairs on the back of her neck started to stand on end.

"Is something there?" she asked silently as she started to move closer to Charlie out of fear. Charlie nodded his head and closed his eyes in concentration. For another few seconds they stood there and when Hermione had made her way right up to Charlie it happened. A huge black spider sprang out at them, gnashing its pincers and waving its legs madly. Hermione screamed, grabbed Charlie's hand and started to run.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Harry said suddenly as they came to a stop in a carpeted hall. Ron and Ginny looked at each other and then to Harry who was leading them superbly.

"Hear what?" Ginny asked her boyfriend. Harry listened hard and then answered, "Charlie and Hermione. I heard them scream just there now." Ron's eyes widened in shock and he ran up to his best friend, "How do you know?" he asked madly. Harry looked at his best friend and replied, "I'm an Auror in training, I'm supposed to know these things."

* * *

Charlie stopped running and flung himself and Hermione into a small alcove in the wall of the corridor. The huge spider ran right past them and seemed to disappear without a trace. Hermione's breath came out in staggering gasps and she clung onto Charlie's t-shirt for dear life. Charlie clutched Hermione to his chest as he too breathed heavily into her hair. If Charlie hadn't have been holding her Hermione was sure she would collapse…wait…Charlie was holding her, to his firm body…her blush was immanent. As she blushed she looked up into the amazing blue eyes that were looking at her in earnest.

"Are you alright?" Charlie asked her seriously. Hermione made a small noise and nodded her head slightly. Charlie looked so handsome, his eyes penetrating her, his lips forming delicate words of comfort. She wondered there and then what it would be like to kiss him. She felt his hand move up the back of her neck and into her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed and she practically waited for the contact but it never came. He simply moved her head to rest on his chest once again as he slid down the alcove wall.

'Don't think about it,' Charlie mentally told himself, 'Just relish the fact that you are holding her in your arms. Don't ruin the moment with an inappropriate kiss. She's your brother's girlfriend.'

"Was that an illusion?" Charlie asked as Hermione nuzzled her head in his chest. Hermione thought the incident over and came to a conclusion.

"It was an aniform spell. It can create an image of any living thing and is controlled by the person who cast the spell," she informed Charlie in a muffled tone as she kept her head buried in his chest. His now gentle breathing was soothing her from her fright and quite frankly she didn't want to move.

"Can they hurt us?" she heard Charlie ask.

"It depends," she murmured as she took pleasure in the softness of his t-shirt.

"Depends on what?"

"The personality of the caster," she told the man who was now stroking her hair. As her heart beat accelerated something in the back of her mind suddenly snapped and she realised what she was doing. She quickly, yet very innocently, stood up and backed away from Charlie who remained sitting on the floor in the alcove.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked as he forced himself up from the ground. Hermione kept her cool and told him that nothing was wrong and that they should simply keep moving if they wanted to get out of the castle.

'You have a boyfriend…albeit an idiotic one, but a boyfriend nonetheless. How could you just sit there and cuddle his brother? Do you not pride yourself on loyalty woman?' said Hermione mentally as she scolded herself.

* * *

"Hermione! You made it!" yelled Ron as he seen his girlfriend emerge out of the castle with his brother. Hermione noticed that it had gotten rather dark while they had been venturing round the castle. Ron ran up to her and informed her that he, Harry and Ginny had been the first to come out of the castle. Hermione smirked; of course they would have been out first Harry was an Auror in training. If he had of been in any position other than first Hermione would have been surprised.

"I have never been so humiliated in all my life!" Hermione heard Molly yell. She looked over in her direction and noticed that the twins were standing in front of her.

"It was only a joke mum!"

"Yeah come on you know what a good joke is right?"

"I do know what a joke is and that was not a joke!" Molly shrieked.

"Seems like Fred and George aided with the traps hidden in the castle," Charlie said to Hermione. Hermione looked at him and laughed as she reminisced of the countless traps she and Charlie had fallen into.

"Do you think they were the ones who made us fall into the trench?" she asked Charlie with wonder in her voice. Charlie screwed up his eyebrows as he remembered falling head first into a trench. "Most definitely," he said with a laugh as he rubbed his head in remembrance.

"And the fireworks!" Hermione exclaimed as she massaged a light burn mark on her forearm.

"Yeah! Fireworks are their signature," Charlie said in realisation. Ron stared from his girlfriend to his brother and his anger quickly started to build.

"The sticky floor must have been one of theirs too," Hermione said happily. Charlie laughed and looked at Hermione fondly but suddenly their conversation was interrupted.

"Can we stop talking about the stupid castle?" Ron said heatedly, not liking the way Hermione and Charlie were talking to one another. Hermione looked at Ron in an offended manner and then gave him a glare that surely should have killed him.

"Well we're sorry if we want to talk about something we enjoyed Ronald!" Hermione said as she moved to Charlie's side. Charlie looked down at her and nodded his head in agreement.

"Do you have a problem with us talking to one another?" Charlie asked his younger brother. Ron seemed to back down slightly but only due to the fact that there were people around him and he didn't want to cause a seen.

'Of course I have a problem! You're flirting with my girlfriend,' Ron thought venomously to himself as Hermione went straight back into conversation with his brother.

* * *

"Mum can I have a word before I go?" Charlie said secretly to his mother as he bid his family and friends good night. Molly turned and looked at her second eldest son with worry on her face.

"OH it's nothing bad I promise," Charlie said quickly, knowing all to well that his mother was probably thinking way outside the box at this moment in time.

"Alright son, come in and we'll have a nice cup of coffee," Molly said gently grabbing her son by his left bicep and pulling him inside.

"What is it you want to talk about?" Molly asked softly as she put 2 lumps of sugar into her coffee. Charlie squirmed in his chair for a moment as he tried to put into words what he wanted to talk about, but before he could say anything his mother interjected.

"Is it Hermione?" she asked him casually while she sipped her coffee. Charlie gaped at his mother 'I knew it! She does know! But how?' he thought to himself.

"A mother always knows," she told him sweetly as she set down her coffee cup and gazed at her son intently.

"Okay stop reading my mind, you know that scares me," Charlie said with a chuckle as he stirred his coffee. Molly smiled warmly at her son but then she looked at him seriously.

"So what is it you need to tell me?" she asked him fatally. Charlie faltered for a second but soon regained his composure.

"I…well you see…its like this, I have feelings for Hermione and I didn't know who to turn to. I need some help," he told his mother quietly. Molly nodded her head and then pondered for a moment.

"How long?" Simple questions would provide her with simple answers and by doing this would help her to give her son some good advise.

"I'm not sure," Charlie said almost dejectedly. Molly mentally sighed and looked at her son sincerely and she then started to talk to him in a slow and calming manner.

"You fell for Hermione the first time you met her. I don't think you knew it then but I did. A mother knows," Molly said informing her son of her observations. Charlie gave her a puzzled stare but didn't interrupt her as she continued to talk.

"You never realised until she went into her 6th year at Hogwarts. Remember that summer, you came to visit us. After you greeted everyone you went to find Hermione, Ron and Harry and when you found them and laid eyes on Hermione, you realised how beautiful she was and how she had blossomed into an independent woman since the last time you seen her. Yet you did nothing knowing of Ronald's feelings for her. I was proud of you son but now I'm rather regretting what you did. Hermione and Ron are a very nice couple and I personally don't want to see any harm come to them but when I think of what it could have been like if you had of made that move, I regret not pushing you forward," Molly said with closed eyes as she drank her warm coffee eagerly.

"I knew it was a good idea coming to talk to you," Charlie said with a sad chuckle. He set down his coffee cup which he had raised only half way to his mouth and asked his mother "So what do I do?"

Molly remained silent for a couple of seconds and then finally looked at her son. "You can _do_ whatever you want. You will always have my support and the family's. When it comes to love you have to have your own interests at heart as well as that certain someone's. I know the situation is rather complicated because she is Ron's girlfriend but when it comes to being a good boyfriend he tends to put himself first rather than her." Molly prided herself in being able to give out good advise but she only hoped that this was the right advise for her lovesick son.

"I guess I can only really be a good friend to her and see how things turn out," Charlie said aloud, more to himself than to his mother. Molly smiled simply and looked at her son with admiration.

"You really are wise Charlie dear," Molly said to her son and with that she drank her last dregs of coffee, bid her son goodnight and went to her bedroom. Charlie however remained in the hotel. A waiter came and asked him if he would like another drink but he declined and dived deep into thought.

'Just friends,' he thought to himself. As he thought this his heart gave a lurch and he sighed heavily and rested his forehead in his hand in, what felt like to him, complete and utter sorrow.

* * *

**A/N:** Awww Poor Charlie Bear!! I hate to see him like this...wait...I'm the one writing the story :O! I'm the one doing this to him! AAAAAHHHH! lol okay moment of madness over.  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will have the next one up for you in no time at all lol. Review with all of your comments and opinions. LOVE xxxx


	13. So Beautiful

_Bonjour_ **:D** How are you all this fine day? I'm feeling rather...amazing lol I don't know why but I just am. Thank you to every single one of my reviewer's (you know who you are) and I would like to dedicate this chapter to **Supernaturalmuse**...who is just such an _amazing_ writer you should check out her stuff...and to **Skippy-the-Rabbit**, who is writting an amazing Charlie/Hermione fic called **Letters**...check it out also **:D **Enjoy xxx

_Disclaimer: As I sit here eating pasta I wonder...will I ever own Harry Potter? No? Damn it!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Thirteen: So Beautiful**_

Hermione stormed down the walking path in the woods that were situated in the grounds of the hotel.

"Herms wait!" Ron called after her. Hot tears prickled in her eyes as she continued to power walk through the woodland area. "Hermione!" she heard him calling her name again and again but she did not stop for him. He was such a jealous, idiotic prick and she just didn't want to look at him right now.

"Would you just stop!" Ron roared from a few yards behind her. Hermione stopped abruptly, turned and looked fiercely at the man who was following her so persistently.

"I don't want to speak to you, you paranoid, simplistic asshole," she screamed at the top of her lungs. Ron cowered for a mere second while his girlfriend started to call him every vile name under the sun.

"Well what am I supposed to think when you are around him all the time?" Ron asked angrily as Hermione stopped to take a breath.

"I am not around him all of the time! And if you think I am then maybe it's something you're doing wrong!" The outrage Hermione felt at that moment in time could not be easily put into words.

"Hey do you two think you could lay off it for a while!" came a shout from a nearby tree. Both Ron and Hermione stared up into the tree in question to find Fred and George lurking within its branches. Hermione sighed heavily and stormed off once again and when Ron tried to follow her she turned on him and threatened to hex him.

* * *

"I don't know where she is!" Ron exclaimed at the lunch table as his mother questioned him for the 5th time.

"What did you say to the poor girl this time?" Molly questioned angrily as Harry and Ginny came back to the table with their lunch. Ron wavered for a second but then told his mother that he had neither said nor did anything which could have possibly upset her.

"There's a lie," Ginny whispered to Harry who agreed with her. Arthur came to the lunch table with Charlie and pulled up a seat beside his wife.

"What's all the fuss here? The tension can be felt a mile off," Arthur said cheerily as he tucked into the sandwiches his wife had already obtained for him.

"Ron has upset Hermione again," Molly said turning on her husband, mentally begging him to say something appropriate. However before Arthur could reply to his wife Charlie cut in, "Where is she?" he asked in a pressing tone. Molly told him she didn't know where she was and Ron did not wish to tell his brother anything.

"I've already had lunch so I'll start looking for her," he said and with that he went and obtained a cucumber sandwich and dashed off to look for the girl in question. On his way out he met Fred and George who had just come back from the woods. He informed them that Hermione was missing and they were able to tell him that they last seen her in the woodland area.

* * *

Hermione sniffed heavily as she wrote on a pad of parchment she had conjured up for herself. As she wrote with her auto-quill she heard a rustling beside her but she didn't look up in curiosity as she was too deep in thought.

"What're you writing?" she heard a familiar voice ask her kindly. She sniffed heavily again, fully aware that it was very unladylike and rather crude but at that moment in time she couldn't care less.

"Are you huffing with me too?" Charlie asked Hermione as he sat down on the soft green grass beside her. He pushed a plate of cucumber sandwiches towards her and she stopped writing. She looked at the sandwiches and then to him and then gave him a cynical smile.

"No I'm not huffing with you." As she talked she could feel the lines of dry tears on her cheeks crack, she must look utterly repulsive right now. She picked up a sandwich half and started to nibble at it. She always got self-conscious when people watched her eat. A few crumbs fell onto her denim shorts and she brushed them away lightly but this caused her parchment pad to fall on the ground.

"Are you writing a poem? You know how it is when you girls get all gloomy and weepy, you just have to write down those horrid feelings into a poem…and then if you're _really_ crazy…burn the poem," Charlie said jokingly. Hermione giggled and shook her head, "No I'm not writing a poem; don't you know me by now? I'm actually writing a speech. You see when I get back home after the holiday I have to go to a rally and make a big speech about S.P.E.W," she informed him, feeling her mood lighten with each passing moment. She didn't know what it was but there was something about Charlie that just seemed to lighten her spirits no matter how heavy they were to begin with.

"How intelligent," Charlie said as he picked up her parchment pad and handed it back to her. She thanked him, for bringing her some sandwiches and for picking up her pad and then for a few minutes they both sat in silence, revelling in a light breeze that swept past them.

* * *

"Herms I'm really sorry!" Ron said as he begged his girlfriend for forgiveness. Hermione turned her nose up at him and walked right past him without a further glance.

"You've blew your chances now mate," Fred and George said in unison as they patted Ron on his back. Ron groaned and cursed himself for saying anything to her in the first place. How were they ever going to have a stable relationship if she took everything he said to her to heart? He hung his head in misery and walked up to his room to get changed for the last part of their tour that night.

"This banquet is going to be wonderful," Molly said to her husband as she sprayed perfume onto her wrists.

"I can't wait to see what will be served," Ginny said happily as she and Hermione got ready in their room.

"She's not going to speak to me the whole night!" groaned Ron to Harry as they got into their dressy clothes.

"Eyeball tinglers or Candy jumps?" George asked his twin as he weighed up two forms of joke sweets in his hands.

After everyone had gotten ready they headed down to wait in the foyer of the hotel for Charlie to come back for them. Hermione sighed peacefully and rubbed her rumbling stomach lightly. For the banquet she had decided to wear a black knee-length dress with a pair of red high heel shoes and on her shoulders she wore a below chest length red jacket. On her right wrist she wore the bracelet that she had purchased when she had been shopping in Sobenaş and on her left the watch that her parents had bought her for her 20th birthday.

"You look lovely Herms," Ron whispered to her in a desperate attempt to get her to speak to him. She simply ignored him and walked over to Fred and George who were poking fun at something. Ron, with his arm outstretched towards her, hung his head once again in misery and was forced to go back over to Harry who patted him sympathetically on the back.

"I'm here everyone!" exclaimed Charlie brightly after he popped into their presence. Hermione looked in the direction of the second eldest brother and couldn't help but stare at him in awe. He was wearing a pair of black trousers with a pale blue shirt and a navy tie. He would have looked the picture of pure sophistication had it not been for the black canvas trainers on his feet.

"CHARLES! Why are you wearing _those_ shoes?" shrieked Molly as she looked her son up and down. Charlie laughed and flushed slightly and explained to his mother that he didn't actually have a pair of dress shoes. Hermione on the other hand thought the trainers gave him a unique look, albeit a very boyish one.

"Lets' go shall we?" Charlie said as he pushed his mother away from him. "Where is it we're going for this banquet?" George asked Charlie as they readied themselves to apparate. Charlie turned and winked to his brother and then said "Down Castle."

* * *

"Welcome everyone to Down Castle," said Vladimir as he welcomed his group to their destination. "It is the residence of the only half witch half vampire in the world," he informed them as he knocked on the huge willow doors.

"Enter," they heard a voice call from inside. As they entered the castle they noticed a woman standing at the bottom of a very grand staircase. She was very beautiful. Her hair was long, dark and curled near her shoulder blades. Her eyes were an icy blue and her skin was as pale as a freshly washed sheet. Her lips were a pale peach colour and they were shaped into a warming smile.

"Welcome to my home, I am Countess June," she said brightly as she went to greet everyone. Her dress was long and elegant and her footsteps soft and gentle.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Countess," said Molly graciously as she shook the Countess's small pale hand.

"Please call me June," she said cheerfully, obviously glad of the company that she was going to keep for the night.

"Your castle is amazing," said Ginny in awe as she shook the Countess's cold hand. June smiled warmly at the babbling girl and then went on to Harry.

"Harry Potter. I must say this is a pleasure," the half vampire half witch said fervently. Harry flushed slightly and shook the Countess's hand. 'I have a funny feeling I'm the reason why we're at this banquet,' Harry thought quietly to himself.

'You wouldn't be far wrong,' said the voice of June in his mind. He startled a bit and noticed that June wasn't even looking at him, yet she had read his thoughts.

"Freaky," he said with a shudder.

* * *

"Sure you can ask me anything," June said to the table as she tucked into her meal. The Weasley family all gazed in wonder as they seen the half vampire eating real food and not taking in blood.

"How are you a half witch half vampire?" Fred asked as he poured himself some wine. June chuckled and looked at the promiscuous twin. "My father was a vampire and he fell in love with my mother who was a witch and so I was born," she told the table that were keen to learn more and more about her.

"Who was your father?" asked Arthur.

"You've already met him. Count Dracula," she informed them sweetly. Everyone at the table promptly stopped whatever it was they were doing and gaped at the Countess.

"Were you at his annual ball?" Ron asked through a mouthful of steak. June's face saddened and Hermione knew instantly that Ron shouldn't have asked that question.

"Alas I was not. I am forbidden to see my father. My mother was killed some time ago by a vampire slayer and he blames me for it as she was trying to protect me. I haven't seen him in almost 90 years," she said morosely, setting down her eating utensils.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Molly who was seated to the left of June who was at the head of the table. June's expression became happy once more as she turned to Molly, "Nothing to be sorry about, please keep eating."

"I know it's terribly rude to ask…but what age are you?" Ginny asked the Countess while she buttered a slice of bread.

"Not at all that's a very good question. As you all know witches and wizards have an extended life anyway and because I am half vampire my life expectancy has been estimated as far greater than that of the average witch. I turned 111 last month and I've been told by specialist people that I could live for another 300 or so years," June said with enthusiasm. The group seated at her large dinning table were in awe and as Hermione went back to eating her meal she heard the Countess speak in her mind.

'I'm sorry to barge into your mind like this but I would like to ask you a question Hermione Granger,' she heard the voice say politely. Hermione kept her face straight as she answered the half witch back.

'That's not a problem,' she said mentally. Outside of her head the countess had started another conversation yet she was still able to speak to Hermione with her mind.

'Is that fine gentleman beside Mr. Weasley your boyfriend?' the voice asked lightly. Hermione looked and noticed that it was Charlie who was seated beside Arthur and she nearly choked on a piece of salad. As she took a sip of wine she answered back to the voice in her head.

'No he's not. The one sitting beside Harry Potter is my actual partner,' Hermione thought. June picked up on a large amount of disdain in Hermione's mind and she smirked slightly. 'Maybe you should reconsider then,' and with that June left Hermione's mind and continued on chatting merrily to the Weasley family.

* * *

"I'm stuffed!" exclaimed Fred as he patted his bloated belly proudly. George copied the motions of his brother and Countess June laughed happily at them.

"I'm glad you are. How about we all take a walk in the gardens?" she said to the table who were now looking rather sleepy from the banquet. Her suggestion was approved by the table and moments later Hermione sighed happily as the cool night air washed over her face.

"Can we split up?" asked Ginny as she grabbed Harry's hand possessively. The countess agreed and the group split up into 2 groups of 5.

"Do you want to come with us?" Ron asked Hermione in an anxious tone. Hermione, who still wasn't talking to her boyfriend, ignored what Ron asked of her and went along with Molly and Arthur's group. Dejected, Ron went back to his group and set off gloomily with them.

"Glad you could join us," Charlie said cheerfully as Hermione huffed and puffed beside him in anger. Hermione didn't look at him but once again felt her spirits lighten.

For 15 minutes the whole group walked in silence but once Molly and Arthur became engaged in conversation with the countess Charlie took it upon himself to engage himself in chat with Hermione.

"I've never asked but…are you enjoying your holiday?" Charlie asked her simply. Hermione, who had dung herself into a horrible pit of anger, looked at Charlie and smiled politely.

"Apart from nearly being squashed by a dragon, being terribly embarrassed in front of over 100 people and nearly being eaten by a huge black spider…yeah it's been a blast actually," she said as she felt Charlie slowly, yet metaphorically, bring her out of her deep dark pit. The flaming red-haired man winked at her and then looked up into the sky. The stars were sparkling down on them all and he sighed peacefully, but something was clawing at his mind and before he could stop himself, words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"Why'd you stay with him?" he heard himself ask the woman of his dreams. Hermione startled slightly at what he said and then stopped walking.

"What did you say?" she asked in a guarded voice. In a desperate attempt to make himself not look so suspicious Charlie started to babble.

"I mean…uh…why'd you…s-stay with him? Y-you just kept on f-f-fighting with each...other." That most certainly had not come out right. Charlie felt at that moment, that he was in a dark room trying to blindly search for the exit, but was getting nowhere.

"I…um…don't know," she said rather stupidly. Charlie blinked at her for a couple of seconds and then gave her a perplexed look. Hermione sighed, shrugged her shoulders and plopped herself down on the ground. Charlie imitated her every move and soon he too was sitting on the ground.

"I thought that by being a little bit tougher with him he'd straighten up but I was obviously wrong. He thinks I spend too much time with you," she said with a sigh and then a giggle. Charlie could feel his body temperature rising as she continued to talk.

"I didn't want to spoil the holiday by breaking up with him. I actually don't want to disappoint Molly," she said as she looked up into the sky.

"Why do you think you'll disappoint mum?"

"I don't know I just have a funny feeling is all," she said softly as she remained looking at the sky. Charlie sighed inwardly, she didn't know the truth. His mum wouldn't really mind.

"You know a very wise person once told me 'You have to be selfish once and a while or else you will never get the person you love.'" Hermione looked to the man beside her who was now lying on the ground staring up into the star-spangled sky.

"Who told you that?" she asked Charlie, not entirely sure where he was going with his statement.

"I told you, a very wise person. He was helping me out with some woman troubles. I was just wondering was Ron being selfish when he obtain you, so to speak." Charlie asked, hoping what he had in his mind didn't sound like downright gibberish. Hermione pondered for a second or two and then answered him "No I was the one who did all the hard work."

"Is he selfish now?" he asked her.

"Incredibly," Hermione said with so much venom in her voice that it troubled Charlie a bit.

"Well then is he really someone you want to spend the rest of your life with? Someone who is selfish and doesn't put you before himself?" Hermione failed to answer him but after a few moments she asked him something instead.

"Who's this woman you're having problems with then?" Charlie could tell that she didn't want to talk about her and Ron's situation at the moment so he decided to humour her.

"Oh just this wonderful, amazing lady I know. She's so beautiful it damn near make's you cry every time you see her. Her eyes are like deep pools of wisdom and are the colour of fresh nutmeg. She's loyal, smart, and funny and love's to take care of people when they're sick. Her voice sound's like angels singing and when you're around her you can't help but feel at peace with the world," he said quietly and before he realised it a tear had welled up in his eye.

"She sound's amazing Charlie. I hope you get her. You deserve someone that great," Hermione said as she too got down to lye on the ground to gaze at the stars.

"I hope so too," he said peacefully as he quickly grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh Charlie...you are just too damn sweet lol. Well I hope you like the chapter...I enjoyd writting it **:)**. Again please review with all of your comments and the next chapter shall be up shortly. We are getting closer to a kiss I reckon lol!! LOVE LOVE xxxxx


	14. Allergy

WOOP Another chapter of 2 weeks in Romania and I can tell you things are about to heat up hehehe. Wow there are so many people I'd like to thank so I'm just going to say Thank you to **EVERYONE** for their amazing and truely heart-warming reviews!! Please read the **A/N** at the bottom of this fic when you're done as I've asked you all a very interesting question and given my answer (which kind of sucks but oh well). I will also apologise for Hermione's fowl language at the end of this OOPS! Enjoy xx

_Disclaimer: I own didilly Squit!!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Fourteen: Allergy **_

Hermione awoke the next morning and nearly cried out in pain. Her hands which had been lying idly under her pillow made their way quickly down to her stomach and in a matter of seconds she had curled herself up into a tiny little ball.

"Herms?" said Ginny groggily as she too awakened from her slumber. "What's the matter?"

"I have a sore stomach," Hermione moaned as she kneaded her hands into her abdomen. Ginny leaned up on her elbow and gave Hermione a troubled look. "Something you ate?" she asked sincerely. Hermione nodded her head slightly, "Yeah it feels like that sort of pain," she whimpered. Suddenly they both heard a loud banging on their bedroom door.

"Gin…Herms! We need your medical assistance," yelled George from behind the door. "What's the problem?" called Ginny as she got up and went over to Hermione.

"Fred's not feeling well. I think it's something he ate!" said George in a concerned voice. He was obviously fretful about his twin's wellbeing and amidst her agony Hermione couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.

"Bring him in!" Ginny called, she then looked down at Hermione who was still curled up into a tiny little ball. "What spell is it that I do?" she questioned, obviously not too sure what spell she should perform.

"It's just a simple Taylor Spell," Hermione said as she continued to knead her stomach which was threatening to force its contents out through Hermione's mouth.

"I know now's not the time but why is it called a Taylor Spell?" asked George who helped Fred to sit on a chair facing a mirror. His complexion was rather green and his eyes were screwed shut in pain.

"John Taylor was the man who discovered and developed all healing spells. Most of them are either named after him or one of his family members or were simply just named by him," Hermione said weakly as she forced herself to sit up to get the spell administered to her abdomen. George nodded his head in realisation and Hermione looked over to Fred.

"What did you eat during that banquet?" she asked him in a raspy tone. Fred opened one of his eyes slightly and told her what he had eaten.

"I had the Crab dish and then the banoffee pie," he said and then he screwed his eye shut again.

"I had the Crab too and I think we were the only one's who took it. That must be the culprit," said Hermione as she thought things over in her mind. Ginny patted her shoulder and then grabbed her wand.

"Make sure you point it directly at my stomach," Hermione informed the younger trainee Healer and she readied herself to perform the spell.

* * *

"Food poisoning?" Molly shrieked as Hermione and Fred shared relieved glances with one another. "Yes Molly, but a simple spell was able to heal both Fred and myself. Ginny performed the spells excellently," Hermione said as she and Fred sipped at glasses of water.

The remainder of the breakfast table looked at Ginny with awe. Ginny started to turn a faint shade of red as her mother started to praise her.

"Are you feeling alright now?" Ron asked Hermione who was sitting opposite him. Hermione looked at Ron and nearly said something to him but then remembered that she wasn't talking to him so she nodded her head slightly and turned to talk to Fred.

"Looks like it's still all picture and no sound," Harry said to Ron who took a miserable bite of sausage. Ron looked at his best friend quizzically and Harry realised that his best friend didn't exactly understand what he was saying.

"It's a muggle saying," he added and then went back to eating his own breakfast.

"When can we eat again?" Fred asked Hermione who was still sipping at a glass of water. "Lunch time," she said simply and took another sip of her water.

"Are you still not talking to our dear Ronny boy?" Fred asked her with a chuckle. "Nope."

"Will you ever talk to him again?"

"Maybe," Hermione said as vaguely as she could. Fred chuckled once more and then dropped into conversation with his twin.

* * *

Hermione lay out on a plastic sun bed, under a parasol in the back gardens of the hotel. Her book lay open on her lap and her sunglasses had slipped down her straight nose. Her breathing was light as she dozed in the afternoon sun and Ron couldn't help but stare at his girlfriend from his position in the sky.

"Starring at her won't do any good you know," Ginny said as she flew up and stopped beside her despondent brother.

"Why won't she talk to me?" he moaned loudly as Harry too flew up and stopped beside him.

"Maybe it's because you've been acting like a right dick towards her," said Harry lightly as Ginny threw a quaffle towards him. Ron shot his best friend a death glare and then went back to starring at his sleeping girlfriend.

"It's true mate so don't give me that glare again," Harry said as the wind started to pick up. From their position in the sky they had landed right in the middle of a light wind strip and as the wind started to pick up they lowered their height just in case.

"What can I do to get her to talk to me again?" Ron said as he continued to piss and moan to his sister and his best friend.

"Maybe you should surprise her with something?" Ginny said as she caught the quaffle Harry had tossed towards her.

"Like what?"

"Buy her something nice," Harry said as he looked fondly at Ginny. Ginny gave him a wink and then turned back to her brother. "Yeah that's sure to win her over," she said eagerly. Something seemed to twig in Ron's mind and suddenly he sped towards the ground, got off his broom and ran into the hotel.

"By Joe I think he's got something!" Harry said in a posh accent as they watched Ron run past Hermione who remained asleep. Ginny laughed and playfully pushed Harry who in turn started to chase her on his broom.

* * *

She brushed her hair thoroughly and applied a light spray of perfume to her neck. Her reflection smiled at her and she couldn't help but feel somewhat beautiful.

"Herms come on you'll miss dinner!" shouted Ginny from the door to their bedroom. Hermione slipped on her white flip flops and made her way to the door.

"Wow you look great!" Ginny exclaimed as they both walked to the dinning room. Hermione beamed at her best friend and noted her own appearance once again. Her white, frilly skirt rippled around her knees as she walked and her pale pink tank top clung to her body showing off her chest magnificently. Her white flip flops high-lighted her now rose pink toe nails, which matched her finger nails. Her short, slightly wavy hair fell about the base of her neck lazily and a silver necklace was resting gently against her browning skin.

"Can I ask why you're dressed like you are?" Ginny asked her curiously. "Ron told me he had a surprise for me and that I should dress up nice for dinner," Hermione said giddily. Ginny felt rather puzzled, Ron had actually been able to get her something and he was getting her excited about it? It had better be a good surprise at this rate.

They arrived at the dinning room and they both entered at the same time.

"Hey Herms!" exclaimed Ron who immediately jumped up from his chair and went over to take Hermione's arm to lead her to the table. Molly and Arthur, who had been seated for quite a while, exchanged curious glances as they watched Ron seat his girlfriend down in her chair.

"I've got a surprise for you," Ron whispered in Hermione's ear as the waiter came to their table to take their order.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" Ron asked Hermione aloud as everyone sat and sipped their drinks. Hermione, who was feeling splendidly full after her meal, snapped her head up to Ron who was eagerly waiting for her answer.

"Yeah I'm ready," Hermione said as she felt butterflies form in her stomach. What had he got planned? Something extravagant? Something kind?

Ron quickly went out of the dinning room and obtained the surprise that he'd gotten for Hermione. "Close your eyes!" he called before he made his way back to the table. Hermione obliged and shut her eyes softly. As Ron approached the table Ginny seen what it was that he'd gotten her best friend and she slapped her hand to her forehead in embarrassment. Harry inwardly sighed; how could Ron have forgotten after all of his years spent with Hermione in Hogwarts? Fred and George grimaced as Ron took his position in front of his impatiently waiting girlfriend and Molly and Arthur felt both a mixture of embarrassment and shock as Ron told his girlfriend to open her eyes. Hermione opened her eyes and gazed at her boyfriend and an assortment of shock, anger and mortification engulfed her as Ron shoved a tiny bunch of flowers into her hands.

"Read the note," Ron said happily. Clearly he was pleased with himself. As she concealed her anger for another moment she took the note which was attached to the flowers. She looked at it and seen the symbol of the hotel on the back of the note. The note itself said: **_'To Hermione; I hope this will make you speak to me again, love Ron.'_**

Her blood pressure skyrocketed as she placed the note on the table but it started to plummet again as she felt her eyes start to burn and her nose start to run.

"Ron…" she said in a threatening tone. Ron, who had a large grin on his face suddenly turned pale as he heard her vicious tone of voice. As her eyes started to water she stood up and squeezed the frail stems of the flowers in her hand. Her burning eyes stared straight at him and she could feel her heart beating sorely against her chest.

"I was considering giving you a chance tonight Ronald. I thought that you had finally straightened out but I was obviously wrong. I knew you were an idiot but it is now plain for me to see that you are even more stupid than the stupidest moron known to man!" she exclaimed, her voice gaining a decibel with every word that came out of her mouth. Ron's pale complexion quickly turned pink as his temper started to spill out over his scared demeanour.

"What? I bought you a nice, thoughtful gift and this is how you take it? You get angry and start to cry!" Ron shouted causing the population of the dining room to stare at him. He'd mistaken her sore, watery eyes for tears of anger and not pain, he really was as thick as dragon's dung.

"I'm not crying you pathetic little idiot! I'm allergic to the fucking flowers! After all these years you don't even remember that your girlfriend is allergic to flowers! I fucking hate you, you idiotic, ignorant, self-centred little bastard! " Hermione yelled, not caring about her fowl language as she threw the flowers in Ron's face. A look of realisation dawned on Ron's now pink face and before he could say anything Hermione apparated out of the dining room to a destination no one knew where.

* * *

**A/N:**Wow can you feel the hatred? I can haha. Hmmm maybe they might break up soon **:O** You'll just have to find out in the next chapter. Please Review with all of your comments and please...tell me if anything like that has ever happened to you?

**A Boyfriend or crush ever get you something that you totally despised/were allergic to/didn't want?**

I remember an old boyfriend of mine told me he wasn't going to get me a Valentine's day gift...not even a card and because I nagged him and told him that I had gotten him something (a very nice tie if I do say so myself) he went out _**ON**_ Valentines day and bought me thee cheapest, tiniest box of sweets the shop had and to make matters worse he left the price on them...they were £1.00. I can tell you I felt _'loved'_ then . lol Didn't even get a card **:\**

Love xxxx


	15. The Capture

**Woo** chapter 15 is up and ready to read! I would like to thank all of my reviewer's who were able to review so quickly lol! I was shocked when I opened my e-mail box and seen TONNES of your reviews! I was sooo happy thank you all so very much **:D**. I hope you are all prepared for a certainly unique chapter...something which contrasts greatly to what you guys were thinking of lol. Enjoy xxxx

_Disclaimer: I only own the plot of the story YAY!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Fifteen: The capture**_

Hermione felt her feet hit hard, dry, dusty ground. As the water kept dripping down her face from her eyes she started to march down the main street of Sobenaş. It was a much different city when darkness had fallen. Every stall had been cleared from the main street and the buildings were all lit up in sleazy lights. Women, barely dressed, stood under tall street lamps. Men, in all manners of clothing, bustled past her, either stopping with one of the barely dressed women, or running into one of the sleazy lit buildings. She shuddered slightly as she walked past a man and woman who were doing unsightly deeds in the entrance of an alleyway.

"Hey there…you American woman?" yelled out a man who was lying drunk in a gutter as Hermione walked past him. She remained silent as she walked, fuming with rage at the man who she thought cared about her.

"Fancy a good time?" said a woman to her in an alluring fashion as she continued to walk. Hermione felt her stomach turn over, the women provided services to more than just men. Something caught her eye as she passed the place where Charlie had told her that her new bracelet looked stunning on her. She entered a Romanian bar that was dimly lit and smelled like cat urine.

"Drink?" said the bar tender to her sluggishly.

"One butter beer please," Hermione said as she sat on a bar stool. The bar tender laughed at her in a dry and mirthless laugh. "That is sissy drink. You must be English yes?"

Hermione glared at the man with fire in her eyes. "That is none of your business," she said aggressively.

* * *

"Ronald Weasley I have never been so ashamed of you in all my life!" yelled Molly as she pushed her son out in the foyer of the hotel. Ron scowled at his mother and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Even I knew that that poor girl was allergic to flowers!" Molly shouted as she went off into a verbal rampage.

"Where could she have gone?" Ginny said as she clung onto Harry. Harry stroked Ginny's fiery red hair and started to whisper comforting words into her ear. Arthur looked at the worrying couple and then turned to his twin boys.

"Do not inform Charlie of this understand?" he said in a calm tone. Fred and George nodded their heads and then Fred spoke up. "Yeah we don't need to worry him with this. We'll find her. She doesn't know of that many places to go." Arthur clapped his hands on his son's shoulders and smiled at them. "I know you'll find her. You search every part of the hotel and I'll search the town of Sobenaş. I only hope I don't find her there."

* * *

Hermione finished the rest of her butter beer, left the bartender a tip, even thought he didn't deserve one and left the dirty bar to continue on her angry walk. The black market of Romania could be seen in progress down each of the back alleyways of the main street. Every manner of item was being sold and Hermione swore that down one alley she seen a man exchange a human heart for money.

"Pretty lady you come with us!" said a dark figure suddenly as Hermione felt a hand clamp over her mouth. She screamed but to no avail as the noise that was emitted from her mouth was muffled. Before her hands were grabbed she frantically searched for her wand but realised with grim terror that she had left it in her bedroom back at the hotel. As her hands were bound her anger changed to fear as she was dragged down a dark alleyway.

"You very pretty English lady. Get us lots of money on black market you will," said a dark and hooded figure as he watched Hermione quivered against a wet, cold wall. They had not gagged her and had not put a silencing charm on her. She figured out in her mind that they mustn't be as smart as normal people, but what she did know was that she needed to keep quiet or else they would hurt her.

'Disgusting man,' she thought to herself as one of her hooded figures spat out a green slim onto the ground right beside her. Her body shivered as the coolness of the wall chilled her back. Her white skirt was now filthy and her pink top wet. Her humiliation knew no limits and her terror was now starting to eat away at her mind.

"Take her to Razvan!" shouted one of the hooded figures in his native language and before Hermione had time to think she was being roughly dragged to her feet and forced down the alley. A small noise emitted from her mouth and one of the men hit her hard on the back of her head. As Hermione felt blood trickle down her neck tears started to well in her eyes once again and the only person who entered into her mind was Charlie.

'Oh Charlie!' she moaned inside her mind as the blood started to stain her pink top.

* * *

"Any luck?" Ginny asked her twin brothers as they ran up to the worried Weasley group who were now sitting on seats in the hotel's foyer. Fred and George grimly shook their heads and Ginny started to cry. Her tears had started as soon as her father had left to search for the only person who she could really call a best friend. Harry's left shoulder was now soaked with her salty tears but he did not complain as he sat and comforted her. He'd offered Arthur his services before the wizard had left to search but Arthur's exact words to him had been, "I know you're an Auror in training Harry but I think you have a greater purpose at this moment in time," he'd said as he pointed to his one and only daughter who was looking fragile.

"Oh I hope we find her soon. I'm just beside myself with worry," Molly said in a voice which had now gone past the point of worry. Ron who had been ordered to sit with his mother and not to move an inch until Hermione was found, held his head low as Molly started to babble about how worried she was and how stupid he was for causing this whole mess in the first place.

* * *

"Please let me go!" Hermione said as she struggled against her captors. Once again she was struck with a blow to her head and one of the hooded men said to her, "You shut up! One more word and we cut you into pieces." She had now been pushed and shoved down into another alleyway. The contents that were kept in this narrow, greasy, smelly little lane resembled that of medicine for both humans and creatures.

"Razvan!" yelled a hooded man, "We have caught a good one for you!" Hermione's eyes widened as a tall foreboding man stepped out of the shadows and walked slowly up to them. "You pay good money for this one," said Hermione's captors. The man named Razvan grasped her chin harshly in a vice like grip and seemed to examine her face. His hands then moved all around her body and touched places that made Hermione's eyes spill out hot, painful tears.

"I pay you 300," said the man called Razvan in a deep tone. Her captors seemed to talk it over and then came to an agreement. "We think this one is worth more than that," said the man who was keeping Hermione's hands behind her back. Razvan shifted menacingly towards the men and then said viciously, "300 and no more!" The hooded kidnappers then talked some more in their native tongue and came to a hurried conclusion.

"Okay 300 we take," they said in unison. Hermione swore she seen Razvan smirk at them as he handed them the money. Her life seemed to flash before her eyes as the men pushed her towards the tall figure. All of the happiness that she had ever felt seemed to sink out through her feet and her heart started to pound against her ribcage. Would anyone ever see her again? Would she ever get to see her family? Would she ever get to see his face again?

"Please somebody help!" she screamed as her fear got the better of her. Razvan laughed mirthlessly and grabbed her delicate arm in his vicelike hands. "Please anybody HELP!" she screamed as she felt her throat rip to shreds.

"Oi! What's going on down here?" called a voice from the entrance of the alleyway. As tears blinded her, Hermione snapped her gaze to the entrance of the alley. Through her blurry vision she could only make out the outlines of flaming red hair.

"Hermione?!" she heard the Weasley member say in shock. Her heard was so fuzzy she couldn't make out who the voice belonged to but it didn't matter, she was just glad that they were here.

"Help!" she called out before Razvan covered her mouth with his rough, smelly hand.

"This girl is none of your business, she belongs to me now Weasley!" Razvan hissed as the blurry figure started to run down the lane. As the running footsteps grew louder and louder she felt Razvan unsheathe his wand and cast a hex at her saviour. She then heard the Weasley cast back another spell which Razvan deflected clumsily.

"I take it this silly girl mean's something to you Weasley!" Razvan said with a maniacal laugh. The horrible wizard then turned Hermione to face him and then started to roam his hand about her body. Her already blurry vision became even hazier as more tears of fear and humiliation streamed down from her eyes.

"Yes she means something to me you sick, degenerate slime-ball! She's the woman I love! So get your filthy hands off of her!" yelled the red-haired man as he shot a curse at him which Hermione had never heard used before. The curse hit the wizard square in the face and as he dropped Hermione to the ground in anger, he took off down the alley at a speed which clearly indicated that he was in a large amount of pain.

"Herms! Herms are you alright?" asked the Weasley in a panicked voice. Hermione felt herself being lifted into a sitting position. A hand was supporting her back and the other dabbing tears away from her eyes with a lavishly soft piece of cloth. Her vision cleared in a matter of minutes and she was able to look up at the man who had saved her life…once again.

"Charlie," she whispered hoarsely. Charlie smiled warmly at her and continued to dab her cheeks. "I'm alright now, thanks to you," she said and she then flung her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder. The force she hit him with caused him to fall down onto his bottom in a sitting position and he then wrapped his arms around her in a warm, calming hug.

"What were you doing down here? I told you never to come down these alleyways! I also thought you'd have had more sense and knew not to come here at night too," Charlie said as he ran his fingers through her short hair.

"It was awful Charlie! I thought I was never going to see you again," Hermione said desperately, not really wanting to answer his question at this moment in time.

"Never going to see me? Why me? I'm not that special," he said with a chuckle but before he knew it Hermione lifted her head and captured his lips with hers in a kiss which both of them knew was right.

* * *

**A/N:** Phew...I finally got the kiss I wanted. I had that scene in my head of them kissing in a dark alleyway after Charlie had saved Hermione for aaaaaaaaaages!! Finally I have it written down **:D** I know you all wanted her to go to Charlie's place but I just had a different idea altogether...I hope you liked it :D please _review_ and tell me what you think **:D LOVE xxxx**


	16. Birthday Memories

Good Morning to you all! I have just risen out of my bed! Hahaha you can call me lazy if you want but I was working hard yesterday in my job and deserved a good sleep! Anyway thank you all for your amazing reviews! I opened my e-mail box and it practically exploded with all of your reviews! I was soooooo happy I really was **xD **And a BIG Thank-you to **Skippy-the-Rabbit **for the mention in her wonderful story **Letters**...if you haven't read it yet then shame on you! Enjoy xxx

_Disclaimer: I don't own a thing D:_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Sixteen: Birthday Memories**_

Fireworks seemed to explode inside Hermione's head as she kissed the second eldest of the Weasley clan. Tingles of delight and pleasure rippled down her spine as he ran a hand down her back. The tenderness of his kiss seemed foreign to her as she'd never been kissed in this fashion. Ron always had chapped lips and when he kissed her it always seemed to be wet and messy, but the way Charlie was kissing her now seemed delicate, yet passionate at the same time. His lips were smooth and felt pleasant against hers and his technique was greatly superior to that of his younger brother's. As she tightened her hold on him she knew in her own head that this was right, this was perfect and that this was the way it should be. She should not and could never let go of the man who filled her with so much raw energy that it made her head spin and her nerves quiver with joy.

Her kiss was in a word, tantalising. All of his dreams seemed to come true the minute she kissed him and even though they were in a dank, smelly alleyway he couldn't care less. The way her hands buried themselves into his hair felt amazing and left him wanting so much more. The way her lips moved against his own simply mesmerised him. Electricity surged through his very being as she held onto him tighter than anyone had ever held him before. Raw magic seemed to flood his mind as she let his tongue enter her mouth and as their tongues danced together he knew instantly that his heart had always belonged to her…Hermione Granger.

* * *

"No luck Arthur?" said Molly in a voice which was sick with worry. Arthur, who had just arrived back at the hotel, shook his head grimly and caught his wife who collapsed in despair into his arms.

"What are we going to do?" she wailed as she clung onto her husband of so many years. Fred, George, Ginny, Harry and Ron all wore nervous, anxious and sad expressions as Arthur sat his wife down on a chair and started to comfort her.

"We're going to have to contact our ministry of magic and the Romanian ministry," said Harry who was supporting a very downtrodden Ginny. Fred and George both agreed with the boy-who-lived and then shot glares at their youngest brother.

"This never would have happened if you'd only taken the time to know and understand your girlfriend properly," Fred said menacingly. Ron snapped his head up to look at his brother in mortification but before he could say anything Harry interjected.

"Ron mate I'm afraid they're right. After almost two years of being together and after all of those years in Hogwarts you really should know her the best out of us all. But after tonight's incident and all the incidents that have happened on this holiday it is plain to see that you know her the least," he said rather darkly to his best friend. Ron's jaw dropped in a foolish manner as Ginny then spoke to him.

"Yeah Ron! Harry's absolutely right. Everyone knows that Hermione is allergic to flowers. Hell I think even Draco bleeding Malfoy knew! You're so selfish and self-centred that it is beyond me why Hermione has stayed with you for so long!" she exclaimed as fresh tears started to well up in her eyes. Ron's ears turned pink with both embarrassment and anger but before he could even start to think of a sentence George started to speak.

"In my opinion the person who actually knows Hermione the best is _Charlie_ and he barely even sees her because he's out here," he said more to himself than to the group, but everyone heard him and agreed with his statement.

"Now hold on a minute Charlie doesn't know her the best!" Ron said indignantly. George turned on his brother and with a placid look on his face said "He does! If you think about it, it's plain to see out of the both of you who knows her the best. Take her 18th birthday for instance. Ron you bought her a ticket to go and see the Chudley Cannons…_your_ favourite team. Now I know she has shown a _little_ bit of interest in Quidittch over the past few years but that didn't mean she wanted to go and see a match. Charlie on the other hand gave her a coupon to go to that health spa with a friend. Fair enough he asked mum to get it because he was over here working but which present is the more thoughtful one?" Ron pondered this for a second but before he could answer Fred piped up.

"Oh yeah I see where you're coming from now! Remember for her 19th birthday Ron bought her a book called '12 different ways to clean your broomstick,' and Charlie bought her a book called 'Greek Mythology and it's relevance to the wizarding word.' She gave the book Ron bought her to me and didn't put the book Charlie got her down for the better half of a week," he said as he started to reminisce Hermione's birthday's.

"I remember in Hogwarts when it was her 15th birthday Ron got her a bunch of chocolate frogs and Charlie bought her that quill set," Harry said as he too thought back on all of Hermione's presents.

"And when she turned 17 Ron bought her that ridiculous toy dragon that breathed fire every time you squeezed its stomach. Her eyebrows took ages to grow back. What did Charlie get her then I can't quite remember," Ginny said as she scratched her head in bewilderment. Harry too tried hard to think but he simply couldn't remember.

"Oh that's when he bought her the strawberry plant seeds," Fred said as the memory came back to him. "That's right she loved that! She planted the strawberries at her house and when she went back for summer they were ready and she ate strawberries and cream for weeks," Ginny said with a laugh. Ron pouted at his siblings and his best friend who were now talking amiably about his failures at buying his girlfriend presents. He felt like yelling out in anger but before the thought of even doing that came to his mind George brought up Hermione's 20th birthday.

* * *

**_Flash Back_ **

"Look at all of those _presents_! You really shouldn't have!" Hermione exclaimed as she walked into the living area of the Burrow. Ron beamed at his girlfriend and led her to a free chair and started handing her presents. Most of his family were present and he could tell Hermione was happy they were there. She considered them all to be her family too.

"Thank you so much Molly," Hermione said as she took out a knitted jumper and knitted socks, "They'll be great for Healer School," she said as she folded the jumper and hugged Molly. Molly's cheeks flushed a pink colour as she watched Hermione open the present from her own parents. "A watch! How did they know I needed one," Hermione said happily as she put the watch on her wrist.

"Open mine next!" Ron stated as his impatience got the better of him. Hermione chuckled and grabbed his present. She unfolded the wrapping paper with excitement and when she seen what she had been given by her loving boyfriend she had to suppress her disappointment for another year.

"Oh a Chudley Cannons baseball cap," she said as she put a fake smile on her face. She turned the box over and noticed that the price was still on the box and as her blood pressure rose she tried to ignore the urge to shout at him '5 sickles and 2 knuts? Is that all I'm worth to you? And I hate the Chudley Cannons!' The idiotic smile on Ron's face seemed to make her want to hurt him more but as she prepared to slap him round the head Ginny forced another present into her lap.

"Who's this from?" Hermione asked sweetly as she controlled her temper. "It's from Charlie, open it, open it!" Ginny said as she practically bounced around the room. Hermione eagerly opened the present and to her surprise it was a poetry book written by Debra Kilik the best witch poet in Britain. A note then fell onto her lap and she picked it up and read it.

_**Dear Herms**_

_**Happy Birthday! I'm sorry I can't be there for it; I have to look after my dragons. As an apology I've marked the poems in the book that I think you should read first. I don't really know if you like Debra Kilik and if you don't how dare you! She is amazing! Anyway send me an owl and tell me what you think.**_

_**All the best**_

_**Charlie xx**_

A wide smile spread across Hermione's face as she read the note. 'How did he know I like Debra Kilik?' she thought to herself privately as she put the note back into the book. As she thumbed through the pages of the rather large poetry book she noticed that Charlie had marked a vast number of poems for her to read.

"Wow that's a really nice present," said Fred and George in unison as they pushed Ron aside and shoved their present into her lap. In a daze Hermione set down her new book and continued to open her remaining presents and totally forgetting the fact that her boyfriend had bought her a truly terrible gift.

**_End Flash Back_**

* * *

"What was wrong with the hat?" Ron exclaimed as he stood up from his chair and faced his siblings threateningly. Fred and George burst out laughing at Ron's statement and Harry and Ginny simply gawked at him in shock.

"She hates the Chudley Cannons!" Ginny yelled as she too stood up and imitated her brother's stance. Harry got up and placed his hands on her shoulders and then looked back at Ron. "But she always told me she liked them," Ron said stupidly. Harry sighed and said "You still have a lot to learn about women."

"She was pretending! When did she ever wear any of that merchandise you bought her or when has she ever mentioned that she wanted to go to and see a match with you?" Ginny screeched, struggling against her boyfriend. Ron's faced started to turn red and as he was about to retaliate the hotel front doors burst open which made everyone jump and turn around in astonishment.

"HERMIONE!" everyone yelled in unison as they seen Charlie carrying Hermione heroically in his arms through the front doors.

* * *

**A/N:** YAY another Chapter is up **:D** and YAY for Charlie cause he is our Hero **:D **BOO to Ron for all of his sucky presents!! ANyways please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter okay? Okay!

**P.s.** Mmmmmmm Toast and Jam! I love Breakfast **)**


	17. Allergies of a Bookworm

Hello everyone **:)** Sorry for the wait but I've had a rough few days what with getting exam results and being sick **:(** I'm a bit depressed cause of the results as I didn't get what I needed (even thought I'm still going to Uni) so I might not be updating for a few days after this...just so I can recover from the shock and get back into my usual way of thinking. I hope that's okay with everyone **:D** Anyway Thank you to all of my reviewers who know who they are! **Enjoy xxx**

_Disclaimer: Pitty I don't own Harry Potter isn't it!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Seventeen: Allergies of a bookworm**_

"Hermione!" everyone in the vicinity of the hotel foyer exclaimed as Charlie carried her into their presence.

"Quiet!" Charlie said in a hushed whisper as he looked down at Hermione lovingly. "She's sleeping." Molly dashed over to her son in floods of tears but as soon as she seen the state Hermione was in she stopped in her tracks.

"What happened?" she asked in a tone reflecting the horror she felt. Charlie looked at his mum in earnest and then shook his head and told her that she would be informed later about what had occurred in the town of Sobenaş.

"Ginny and I will clean her up. Ginny you can heal her wounds and Charlie you take her up to her room pronto," Molly stated as she took charge of the situation.

"I think I should take her up," Ron said threateningly as he advanced on his older brother. Molly stood in front of her youngest son with a death glare on her face. "If you take one more step you will never see the light of day again mister," she said in a warning voice. Ron stood his ground and talked back to his mother, something which made his brothers, sister, father and Harry wince in discomfort.

"She's my girlfriend, I should be the one to carry her up to her room," he said in a voice he'd never used with his mother before. "Don't talk back to me Ronald Weasley!" she screamed at him, "You were the one who caused all of this worry and commotion in the first place. You will not touch a single hair on her body!"

"Charlie…" moaned Hermione from the arms of her saviour. The entire Weasley family snapped their heads over towards Charlie who was now looking down on Hermione with a worried expression.

"What is it princess?" he asked soothingly. Once he'd called her a pet name Ron seemed to explode and as he started to shout "Don't call her that you son of a bi-," Ginny slapped him round his head forcing him to keep quiet.

"Make the noise stop," Hermione mumbled as she clutched onto Charlie's t-shirt. "I will pet. Just close your eyes and forget about everything," he said in a soft, gentle manner.

* * *

As Ron protested down in the foyer with his best friend, his twin brothers and his father, Ginny, Molly and Charlie entered Hermione's room.

"Just set her on the bed Charlie," Ginny said as she motioned towards Hermione's double bed. Charlie did as he was told and as he placed the fragile girl gently onto the bed she muttered something in a pained voice.

"Don't go," she said hoarsely. Charlie couldn't help but let his heart melt as Hermione's delicate hands found his. He looked at his mother and sister who had both heard what Hermione had said and they smiled at him.

"You can stay, just don't look whenever we are changing her," Molly said soothingly to her second born. Charlie smiled gratefully at his mother and sat down on the bed next to Hermione, never letting go of her small, smooth hands.

"Where are her wounds?" Ginny asked the Dragon keeper as she stood over her best friend. "On her head mostly," Charlie said as he felt bile bubble at the back of his throat. He felt so much hatred towards the men who had inflicted Hermione with such pain that he just wanted to go back out there and hunt them down.

* * *

"Is she okay now?" asked George in a hopeful voice when he seen his mother, sister and brother coming back down into the foyer. Ron, who was sitting in a chair with his arms folded across his chest and had a pout on his lips, turned his head to listen to what was being said.

"Yes she'll be fine now. She's sleeping so you won't get to see her until tomorrow," Ginny said soothingly to George who now looked both happy and relieved.

"What happened to her?" Harry asked Molly as Ginny came over to him and hugged him. Molly wore a blank expression and turned her head towards Charlie. He hadn't told them yet so he decided to answer the question.

"It's a really long story and I don't think I should be telling it in the foyer where anybody can hear it. Let's go somewhere more private shall we," he said, wanting to keep what happened to Hermione strictly confidential.

A few moments later the entire Weasleyclan and the famous Harry Potter were sitting the in the lounge/bar area in a quiet corner. Now that each person was settled, quiet and had a drink Charlie began to tell them how he'd found Hermione and what he'd done to save her.

"Wow it was so lucky that you'd needed to go into town for that emergency Dragon medicine," stated Fred as he sipped on a glass of fire whiskey sour. George nodded his head in agreement with his twin as his father said, "Yes and it was equally as lucky that the man you get the medicine from was Hermione's captor."

"Why was it an emergency?" asked Ginny who was sipping on a very colourful looking cocktail. Charlie chuckled and then looked at his baby sister "One of the dragons ate some bad meat and got poisoned. We ran out of the specific medicine and so I had to rush into town to get some."

Ron made a sceptical noise with his mouth and downed his glass of butter beer. Charlie looked over at him and asked "What's wrong?"

"It all sounds a bit _too_ much of a coincidence to me," he said venomously. Charlie looked at him perplexedly while his other siblings glared at him.

"Ron stop talking shi-," Fred began but was interrupted by Charlie who said "No don't say that…let's just hear him out. What do you mean Ron?"

"I'm saying I think you planned the whole thing!" Ron said, blatantly accusing his own flesh and blood.

"Planned? How could I plan something like that…no wait scratch that, _why _would I plan something as sick and twisted as that?" Charlie asked his brother. He could feel his temper rising and he really didn't want to loose it in front of his mother. Molly on the other hand was just about to loose her own temper as she listened to the meaningless drivel that was coming from one of her son's mouth.

"I don't know how, or even why but it was all just a plot to steal her away from me!" Ron half shouted. Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder to stop him from jumping up and causing a scene.

"Steal her away from you? Why would I do that? And if I'm not mistaken you were the one who was probably terribly insensitive to her to cause her to run off." His temper was at breaking point. He'd just about had enough of his youngest brother's foolishness and he was finding it hard to restrain himself from jumping over the table and beating him senseless.

"Because you love her!" Ron shouted and then he pointed his wand at his brother in a jealous fit of rage.

"Ronald!" shrieked Molly as she stared at the outstretched wand. Harry, Arthur, Fred and George made to get up but before they could Charlie motioned them to stay where they were.

"Oh I see. You think I love her?"

"I know you do!"

"And what if I do? What would you do then?"

"I'd kill you."

"So you'd kill your own brother for the 'love of your life' would you?"

"Of course I would. I love Hermione!"

"Oh yes that is obvious isn't it. Yeah it was a bold declaration of love when you left her behind in the dragon reserve and she ended up under a dragon's hand. The time you embarrassed her horribly in front of hundreds of people, what a good boyfriend you were there too. Causing her to run off into a dangerous town where she got kidnapped, beaten and emotionally scarred for life, yet another loving move from you Ron." Charlie couldn't take it anymore, he knew he was being mean and selfish towards his brother but he just couldn't take it anymore. Ron didn't deserve Hermione, he did! He wanted to be with her every minute of every day for the rest of his life. He wanted to be there to protect her and comfort her when things got tough and he wanted to love her openly and freely and kiss her like he had when he saved her.

"You bastard! I'll curse you!" Ron yelled and as he was about to cast a curse at his second oldest brother his wand flew out of his hand and into the hand of another.

"That's enough," said the person who was now holding Ron's wand. Everyone looked around and seen Hermione standing holding Ron's wand with her own by her side.

"Hermione!" they said in unison. Only Ron remained silent as Hermione came over to the table and sat down in between Charlie and Fred. She had successfully gotten herself changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and as she ordered herself a glass of water everyone at the table watched her closely.

"You shouldn't be out of bed dear," Molly said in a motherly tone to the girl who she thought was out for the count in her bedroom. "I'm fine Molly, honestly," Hermione stated as she looked at the mother of her best friends and then around the whole table.

"Are you sure princess?" Charlie asked her as he found her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. She smiled softly at his touch and nodded her head. "I'm alright. Ginny did a bang up job in healing my head wounds and I just couldn't get back to sleep once you'd left," she said addressing Charlie. She squeezed his hand back and as she did so Ron's jaw dropped as he witnessed the loving glances shared between his brother and his girlfriend.

"Hermione…aren't you forgetting that _I'm_ your boyfriend?" he said almost threateningly. Never taking her gaze off Charlie she said in a firm and astute tone, "You're not anymore." Not believing what he'd just heard Ron started to gibber.

"You're dumping me? In front of my whole family?"

"We seen it coming mate…after the stunt you pulled tonight," Fred said to his brother. Everyone around the table seemed to nod their heads in agreement as Ron turned an angry purple colour.

"You can't do this to me," he said in both a disbelieving and nasty voice. Hermione, with her gaze firmly set on Charlie, asked a question to the table instead of retorting back at Ron.

"This question is to the table but I want Ron to be the first one to answer. What three things am I allergic to?" she asked. Ron's face fell, she was allergic to three things?

"Um…flowers…uh," he said with great hesitation. "Come on Ron as my boyfriend of almost two years these should be on the top of your tongue," Hermione said in a tone which scared Ron severely. As he continued to hesitate Hermione then said "Alright how about everyone else answers first starting with you Charlie."

"Flowers, cinnamon and seaweed," Charlie said as he rhymed Hermione's three allergies off the top of his head. Everyone else around the table said the same and Ron started to turn pale, which was a vast difference when compared to his angry purple colour.

"You are all correct, apart from you Ronald. You only managed to get one. Shame and you were doing so well, getting the allergy that you were able to flare up just this evening!" Hermione said scathingly as she finally took her eyes off Charlie and planted them on Ron.

"He gave you real flowers?" Charlie asked in shock. Hermione and then rest of the table nodded their heads in confirmation and Charlie sighed.

"Herms please…don't do this! Give me another chance," Ron said as he pleaded with his angry girlfriend.

"No Ron you've had more than enough chances and you've blown them all! This time it's for real. We are not an item anymore, I've wasted enough of my life with you and I think it's about time that I start to live it a little," and with that Hermione got up from the table and stalked out of the lounge area. Charlie got up and followed after her leaving everyone else to comfort the now dumped Ron.

"She…dumped me," Ron said quietly. "She had every right to!" exclaimed Molly to her son. She then left the table and slowly after that each person followed suit and left. Only Harry and Ron were left at the table now.

"In all fairness…you deserved that," Harry said with no remorse in his voice as he too got up and left his best friend to wallow in his newly found self-pity.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes finally they are split up WOOP!! It feels so good to get that off my chest lol. Again I say sorry for the wait for this chapter. Please Review ans tell me what you thought and please...come back for the next chapter xD I'll be back soon **LOVE xxx**


	18. Charlie Weasley the world's perfect man

**Hello** there and yes I am back! I have fully recovered from my freak exam results and am back to my old self **:D** Thanks to everyone for their support and for their amazing reviews! I have concluded that there will _**only be two more chapters**_ after this so YES the story is coming to an end!! So before I go _I would just like to say this one thing: Everything happens for a reason. Take getting into University as an example. If you fail to get into that university that you really want to get into it means that you weren't supposed to actually go there and that there is something better out there for you. I understand that now and I hope everyone else who will be or has been in the same situation as I have or similar will understand that :) So don't stress you'll hurt yourself lol._ Okay my speech is over now so **ENJOY!! xxx**

_Disclaimer: NOTHING! I own...nothing_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Eighteen: Charlie Weasley; the world's most perfect man**_

"There you are," said the voice of the person who filled her with so much happiness that she felt like bursting every time they touched. As the wind swept through her hair she smiled meekly as he sat himself down beside her.

"You can walk pretty fast for a person who has been through what you've been through tonight," Charlie said gently as Hermione sat with her knees tucked up to her chest. It was muggy outside tonight but Charlie still couldn't help but worry about Hermione getting cold.

"Do you want my jacket?" he asked her as she gazed at a fixed point. She shook her head with a small smile on her lips and sighed. "I did do the right thing didn't I?" she asked him. Charlie blinked at her for a moment or two and then chuckled lightly, "I don't think I'm the guy you should be asking."

"No…I _know_ it was the right thing for me to do but I shouldn't have done it in front of everyone like that," Hermione stated flatly. Thoughts like this had been whirling round in her mind since she had taken off into the grounds. She wasn't a mean or cynical person but she felt like it at that moment. She really should have taken Ron aside and dumped him privately but when she was at the table with the people she cared for the most she couldn't think straight as all of the horrible and thoughtless things Ron had ever done to her flooded her mind.

Minutes passed by slowly and both Charlie and Hermione sat in silence thinking about the night's events. Every so often Hermione would rub the back of her head as she thought about her captors and that was when Charlie would glance at her in worry.

"Did you really mean what you said in the alleyway?" Hermione suddenly asked the dragon keeper who was floating about in a world of his own. Charlie's focus snapped back onto her and he gave her a puzzled expression.

"Mean what exactly?" he asked her.

"That I'm the woman you love?" she asked him rather timidly. Charlie felt heat rise up his neck and spread across his face rapidly.

"I uh…what I…erm…yes…I meant it," he said as he became fully aware of how close he and Hermione were actually sitting. He seen the faint blush appear on her cheeks and he couldn't help but let himself caress her smooth skin. Her hand found his and she laced their fingers together. Her small hand seemed to fit into his like a jigsaw piece and as they gazed into each others eyes they couldn't help but chuckle lightly as they kissed each other once again.

* * *

"Is this not all a bit too sudden?" Hermione asked Charlie as they walked hand in hand through the woods in the hotel. Charlie scratched his head and looked down at his princess.

"Maybe it is. If you think it is we don't have to do anything until you feel the time is right. I don't want to pressure you or anything," the dragon keeper said, thoroughly concerned about her wellbeing. Hermione giggled which deeply confused Charlie so he stopped and stared at her in utter bewilderment.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh it's nothing. You just contrast so much with Ron. He always pressured me into things but you…you actually care about my feelings. You really are amazing Charlie," she said sweetly as she squeezed his hand. Charlie gave her a bashful smile and then pulled her into a hug. "If you think it's too soon then I'll wait for you pet. I mean I can understand where you are coming from you only broke up with him an hour ago," he then said into her hair, which, thanks to his mother and Ginny, smelt like fresh ginger and honey.

"I know this sounds really harsh and I really begrudge saying this but….I'm not upset, or heart broken or…anything. I sound like a heartless cow but that's just how I'm feeling," Hermione said in a muffled tone as she had her face buried into Charlie's chiselled chest.

"You don't sound like a heartless cow! Don't ever say that! You have the biggest heart out of everyone and everything I know and I know Dragon's and their hearts are huge!" If he could make her laugh then maybe she would feel better about herself. Once he heard a soft giggle he felt his mouth form into a smile as they continued to hug each other under the trees.

* * *

As Hermione and Charlie made their way back to the hotel with their arms around each others' waist Charlie suddenly stopped in his tracks. Once Hermione had realised that Charlie had indeed stopped she too stood still and looked back at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him perplexedly. Charlie shook his head as if he was trying to clear his mind of something. He then looked back up at the girl who was now looking spectacular drenched in the rays of the beaming moon in the sky. Her skin seemed to glow with heavenly beauty and her eyes sparkled with intelligence. Her short, curly hair had turned a lighter shade of brown in the light and looked as soft as silk. Her voice sounded angelic and Charlie could feel his heart beating to a rhythm which he was unfamiliar with. As she took his other hand he bent down and lightly kissed her lips once again.

"It's nothing princess, I thought I heard something but it must have been my imagination," he said in a charming manner. A coy smile worked its way onto her delicate lips and Charlie couldn't help but let a grin work its way onto his own face. He knew she'd only just broken up with his younger, and tremendously imbecilic, brother but he just couldn't stop himself from feeling the happiest that he had ever felt in a long time. She had his hands in hers and was gazing up into his eyes in what he determined to be a loving fashion. No thoughts of being a bad brother at going out with his younger brothers newly established ex came to his mind as she stood on her tip toes and sent electricity down his spine via his lips. The way her hands left his to burry themselves into his hair simply intoxicated him and he couldn't believe that everything he had ever wished for had actually came true in the space of a night.

"Herms I don't know if anyone has ever told you this but…you're a really fantastic kisser," he said absentmindedly as her lips left his.

"No I haven't been told that so thank you very much," she said with gratitude as she continued to run her fingers through his spiky, ginger hair. She then pondered for a moment and realisation suddenly dawned on her face.

"Charlie…when we were in Countess June's garden…and we were lying on the ground watching the stars and you described a woman to me…It was me you were describing!" she exclaimed as the realisation hit her like a brick to the head. Why didn't her brain twig on at the time? Because she was obsessing over her old broken relationship that's why.

"Guilty," he replied to her unasked question. He remembered his description of her that night and he noted to himself that nothing had changed and he was happy.

"You sly dog," she said playfully as she pulled his hair softly.

"Oh dear looks like I found myself a man beater! Somebody help!" Charlie exclaimed in mock distress. Hermione laughed and continued to pull at his hair as gently as she could but just enough so that his head would be pulled back.

"I'm not a man beater…I'm a man eater!" she said playfully as she planted several kisses on his neck.

"Wow aren't you forward," he said as he savoured the fact that his neck was now covered in Hermione kisses. She smirked slightly and then told him "I'm never usually like this you know. I blame you!" She then released his hair and placed her hands on his chest which was firm to the touch, unlike Ron's which had started to get a little flabby after he had stopped playing Quidditch. Charlie wrapped his arms around her once against and she sighed happily. She'd never felt like this with anyone else and quite frankly she didn't want to feel like this with anyone else other than Charlie Weasley. She loved the way her heart fluttered when he held her and how her stomach did back flips every time they looked at each other. The way her face would flush pink when he held her hand was something new to her as it had never happened before with anyone else. She deeply loved the fact that she could feel his own magic engulf her every time their lips touched, even if it were for a mere second. He was intellectual like she was; he was fit and healthy and appreciated her healthy eating habits, he was in tune with what women wanted, he always knew the right things to say, he had a very good relationship with his parents and siblings and he was out going and laidback all rolled into one. Charlie Weasley was without a doubt the world's most perfect man and Hermione couldn't understand why she hadn't realised his and her true feelings for each other until now.

"Oh don't you two look cosy!" came a sudden voice as Charlie and Hermione held each other. Hermione's eyes, which had been shut, snapped open in shock and she turned her head sharply to look at the person who had just spoken. Charlie too, who had been in a world of his own, lifted his head in astonishment and turned to stare at the figure in the darkness who had just made a statement about the both of them. He held onto Hermione tightly as the figure emerged from the shadows holding Harry's infamous Invisibility Cloak.

"Sorry…did I interrupt something?" His words were rather sluggish which implied that he had been drinking alcoholic beverages. Hermione felt anger and fear build up inside of her as the wizard dropped the cloak and pointed his wand at Charlie.

"Charlie I'm going to have to ask you to let go of my girlfriend!" exclaimed a drunken Ron as his hand swayed slightly while he held the wand at his brother.

* * *

**A/N:** OOOOO Dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuun **:O**! What will happen next? Oh my you'll just have to find out in the next chapter now won't you **;D** Review with all of your comments and please come back again for the second last chapter of 2 weeks in Romania xxxxxx


	19. A Sad Departure

Hey again thank you to all my reviewers who took the time to review my story! I love you all. Well this is the second last chapter in 2 weeks in Romania **:O** It took me a while to write this because I got a touch of writers block **blush** but I got over it and was able to produce this!! I hope you all enjoy it xxx

_Disclaimer: JKR owns everything!_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Nineteen: A sad departure**_

"Fred…George! Are you awake?" Ginny hissed rather loudly as she and her boyfriend stood outside of the room which contained the impish Weasley twins. The door of the bedroom opened wide enough for a very disgruntled George to poke his head through. His blazing red hair was tossed and sticking out in odd directions and his skin looked a tired grey colour.

"Wha'!" he said with a grunt as his eyes drooped. Ginny, who was in a pair of Bill's hand-me-down shorts and one of Harry's old Quidittch t-shirts and Harry, who was wearing a pair of long cloth trousers and a dressing robe forced their way into the twins bedroom and to their astonishment noticed that it was immaculately clean.

"What happened in here? Did the cleaning fairy pay a visit?" Harry said with a chuckle as he sat down on the end of George's bed.

"For your information we like to keep a tidy room," came the voice of Fred from under his bed covers.

"What about your room back home?" Ginny asked her brother as she climbed into his bed. A yell was heard and Fred jumped up quickly. "Gin you're feet are freezing! Back home is different…we just like to annoy mum now what do you want?" he said sleepily as he dropped back down onto his pillow.

"Herms hasn't come back to our room yet," Ginny said as she became instantly worried. "Neither has Ron," added Harry who was scratching his back.

"So?" said the twins in unison.

"Well…we have a funny feeling that they are arguing somewhere and I know for certain that Ron will be drunk," Harry stated. The twins suddenly seemed to liven up as they started to process things in their unique minds.

"Oh _flippin'_ hell!" exclaimed George.

"That's just not good!" sighed Fred.

"Can't he just accept that he got dumped? It's been waiting to happen for ages!" George said with the usual enthusiasm in his voice missing. Ginny shook her head, "This is Ron we're talking about don't forget."

"That's true," the twins said in understanding. George, who was now standing in the middle of the room, ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"What should we do then?" he asked Harry and his siblings. Harry got up and joined George and then turned to the bed which contained Fred and Ginny.

"We have to go and look for them," he said firmly. He knew what Ron was like when he had a few in him and he didn't like to think what he'd do to Hermione if he had a few too many.

"But won't that seem like we're following them or something?" Ginny stated to the Auror in training. Harry looked at his beloved girlfriend softly and said "It's the only way to get them back to their rooms. We don't want Hermione apparating off again."

* * *

Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ron was standing pointing his wand directly at Charlie, his own flesh and blood.

"Get your hands off her!" Ron exclaimed drunkenly. Charlie let go of Hermione but stood in front of her to protect her from the tip of the outstretched wand.

"Ron you're drunk," he said calmly.

"And you're a dick!" yelled Ron, his face the colour of a ripe tomato. In an odd sense Hermione felt somewhat flattered that these two men were fighting for her but her conscience was telling her that what was happening was wrong and that everything was her own fault.

"She belongs to me!" she heard Ron say to his older sibling. She felt something snap inside of her mind and she forced her way past Charlie.

"I do not belong to anybody! What do you think you are doing Ronald?" she growled in a threatening manner. The drunken Ron did not back down at her tone and stood his ground. "We belong together you and me…you don't belong with this…arsehole!" Ron said as the wand in his hand swayed with his body. Charlie was finding it hard to keep his cool with his kid brother as he spoke. He knew he was drunk and upset that he and Hermione had found each other after so many years but God damn it was he ignorant.

"Ronald I have found the man who truly deserves my hand and I'm sorry to tell you but it's not you!" Hermione yelled as she remembered the words that Count Dracula had said to her during the Vampire Ball.

"Deserves your hand? That prat? He's nothing but a girlfriend stealer!" Ron said as he thrust his wand in Charlie's direction.

"What your mouth! I didn't steal her…you simply lost her and I found her! I've been nicer to her than you have been since you met her," Charlie said as he felt his grip on his temper loosen. Hermione could sense Charlie's anger and it scared her slightly but the statement he had just uttered seemed to affect her…in a good way.

"I'm not an object that can be lost and found, but thank you Charlie," she said gratefully. Charlie gave her a warm smile and then added, "Figuratively speaking of course."

Ron, in his alcoholic state, noticed the spark that was shared in both Charlie and Hermione's eyes and realised that when they were together…he and Hermione had never shared something like that.

"You love her," he mumbled childishly as his wand fell to his side. Charlie and Hermione turned to stare at him. "Pardon?" Hermione asked him.

"He loves you…I can see that. I guess I just couldn't handle the fact that the person that you found that was better than me was my brother Charlie," he said with a slight waver in his voice. Hermione felt confused, what had just happened?

"Ron you're a great guy and a very loving person, but we are just too different you see. You need someone who will talk to you for hours on end about Quidittch and food and whatever else you love to talk about. Just because I broke up with you doesn't mean that you are a bad person, even though you made so many stupid mistakes but that's okay because if we don't make mistakes then we have nothing to learn from," Hermione said gently to her drunk best friend. She walked towards him and put her hand tenderly on his slumped shoulder. His eyes met hers and seen that there was a glow behind them that had never been there before and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"I'm glad you're happy. We're still friends right? I'd go nuts if we weren't friends," he said in a defeated tone. Charlie grinned and walked over to his brother and the love of his life. He copied Hermione's move and also placed a hand on his fallen shoulder. "Mate if she ever stopped being your friend I'd have something to say about it." He could feel the warmth between them and just as he began to relish in the fact that everything had turned out right in the end he heard a familiar voice yell "_Stupify_!"

* * *

"I can't believe you stunned him!" yelled Hermione and Ginny in unison as they levitated Ron back to the hotel. Fred grinned mischievously and glanced at his twin who was doing the same.

"Sorry…my wand slipped," he said with hilarity ringing in his voice. Harry glared at the twin and said in a tone which indicated that he was annoyed, "I told you to wait and see how the situation was!"

"Sorry mate I couldn't help it," Fred said with a laugh which sounded more like a bark. Charlie who was levitating Ron had to suppress a smirk at the boyish behaviour of his younger twin brothers. He loved Fred and George dearly as they were the touch of humour that every family needed and that during their time at Hogwarts they had gotten up to more mischief than he and Bill ever had.

"Anyway why did you guys come looking for us?" Charlie asked as they climbed the steps up into the back of the hotel.

"Well Gin and Harry started to worry when their room mates didn't show up and so asked us…the incredible, amorous, saucy and all round cool Weasley twins to help them find the pair of them before they killed each other," George said as he and Fred walked side by side. "Well you certainly do think highly of yourselves don't you," Charlie said with a chortle which earned him a sly grin from his brothers.

"Why weren't you killing each other?" Ginny suddenly asked as she and Harry checked that the coast was clear and that nobody would see them.

"Because we came to an understanding," Hermione said in a particularly relieved fashion. She was glad that Ron had seen sense and realised that she had just fallen out of love with him and in love with somebody else…wait…did she just admit that she loved Charlie? Damn it! Blush!

"Why are you blushing princess?" Charlie whispered in her ear as Ginny took control of levitating her stunned brother. She didn't think it was possible but her face started to blush deeper as she felt Charlie's cool breath tingle her ear.

"Oh it's nothing…nothing at all," she said and with that she grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs and into Harry's bedroom where Ron was now situated.

* * *

The remaining days in Romania seemed to pass with ease. Now that it was known that Hermione and Ron were split up and that she and Charlie were now somewhat in item, everything seemed to be more relaxed and calm. Molly and Arthur never found out that Ron had gotten drunk, threatened his older brother with a wand and had then been stunned by Fred and the entire group were going to make sure that it would be kept that way. The girls had gotten their fill of shopping and the boys had gotten their fill of food and drinks. Charlie booked time off work for the remaining days so that he could be with his family and the woman he loved more than anything on the planet…even dragons. However the time seemed to speed on past them and in no time at all everybody's fun had to come to an end.

"Oh Charlie bear I'm going to miss you so much!" Molly wept as she clung onto her son. Arthur blinked back tears as he shook his son's hand and then grabbed him into a hug.

"You are going to keep writing to me aren't you?" Ginny said sadly. Charlie, who had managed to wriggle free from his mother (who was now crying on her husbands shoulder), winked at Ginny and hugged her tightly, "You know I will. Not once since I left for Romania all those years ago, have I not written to you twice a week. Besides you have Harry now…you'll be too occupied with other things!" Charlie said suggestively. Ginny pulled a face and then playfully hit her older brother on his arm.

"Charlie…what can we say, we'll miss you big guy," said the twins in harmony as Charlie clapped them both on the back.

"And I'll miss you two too. Remember what I said, when you come to open your first shop in Romania let me know," he said happily as he mussed his younger twin brothers' hair. They both laughed their identical mischievous laughs and let Charlie go and say good bye to the rest.

"Ron…sorry again for everything that happened over here, I still love you bro," he said as he gave his youngest brother a one armed hug. Ron held himself together as he looked into his brother's eyes.

"Don't worry about it mate, she's better off with you and even I know that. I love you too you big lug!" he said as Charlie gave him a warm smile and then turned to Harry.

"Take care of my sister and behave," he said in a teasing voice as he shook Harry's hand. Harry winked at him and told him that if anything happened to Ginny that Charlie was allowed to come and beat him up even if it wasn't his fault. Charlie laughed and then felt his heart sink as he looked to the girl beside Harry. Her eyes shone like diamonds and her cheeks were flushed a shallow pink.

"Herms, I think this has to be one of the hardest goodbyes I-I've ever had to do," he said as his voice broke with emotion. Hermione gasped in air as she too felt the powerful emotion running through her body. Charlie pulled her into a hug and she felt his magic surround her like a shield.

"I don't want to leave," she said despondently. She felt Charlie run a hand through her silky, short hair and she felt her tears spill down her cheeks. She'd never felt like this before.

"You have to. You have medical school to attend. You need to practice to become the best bloody Healer in the world." He needed to hear her laugh. It would make everything feel better. He heard a slight chuckle emit from her and suddenly he felt relived, he knew he'd see her again; he'd make damn sure of it.

"Hermione dear we need to go now," Molly said gently to the sobbing witch. Hermione lifted her head and gazed deeply into Charlie's lapis lazuli eyes. She could see his tears shimmering on the edges of his eye lids but she knew that he wouldn't let them fall just to show her that he was strong and she had to be too. At this she wiped away the tears from her face and smiled a very small smile.

"I'll miss you so much," she whispered hoarsely as she felt his thumb rub her cheek. Her heart thumped madly as Molly reiterated that they had to leave and so before she let go of the man who had saved her so many times she stood on her tip toes and captured his lips with hers in a chaste kiss.

"I'll miss you too but I can guarantee that we will see each other very soon," he said and with that he pulled out a box from his pocket which he had shrunk down to size and placed it in Hermione's soft, delicate hands.

"See you soon princess," he said and with that he let go of Hermione and watched as she and the rest of his family apparated to their portkey location.

As they waited Hermione gazed at the box that Charlie had given to her. "Well aren't you going to open it?" asked Ron, who was standing beside her. She looked at him and then back down at the box.

"Go on I want to see what it is," said Ginny who was on her other side with Harry. Hermione nodded her head slowly and bit her lip as she opened the mystery box. Her breath caught in the back of her throat as new tears welled up in her eyes.

"What is it?" asked Harry softly. Hermione furiously wiped away her tears and said in a breathless voice, "It's a bottle of perfume."

"And what is so special about a bottle of perfume?" asked Ron in a curious tone. Hermione glanced at him and then back at the perfume which she had deemed 'too expensive to buy' at the very start of their trip. "Oh you wouldn't understand," she said with a watery smile as the portkey which was destined to take them home appeared before them.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if there are any spelling or grammer errors in this chapter! So what did you think of that? Was it good? Did you hate it? Review and tell me and I'll have the final chapter up as soon as possible xxxx


	20. Happy again

OH NO!! It's the final chapter **:sob:** I would like to thank everybody who has read this fiction and reviewed and enjoyed it **:D**I'm so happy that it was a success! You know I remember I read my first Char/Herm fic andthought to myself that I should give it a go. I never thought I would have been able to produce my most successful story to date!! So I thank you all for reading and reviewing and enjoying and so for the last time...ENJOY! xxxx

_Disclaimer: Since the first chapter I have only owned the plot line o.O_

**2 weeks in Romania**

_**Chapter Twenty: Happy again**_

Hermione sighed heavily into her coffee cup. As she picked at a blueberry muffin she noticed Ginny was staring at her in a concerned manner.

"What?" she asked her as she swallowed a piece of muffin. Ginny giggled slightly but then looked concerned once more. "You know that's the first time I've ever seen you eat a muffin," she said softly. Hermione scoffed in an unladylike manner and simply said, "I eat junk food when I'm depressed or nervous."

"I never seen you eat any in Hogwarts," Ginny said confusedly. Hermione smirked a smirk that could have rivalled Draco Malfoy's.

"I had a secret stash in my dorm," she said cynically and with that she finished her muffin and got up to pour herself another cup of coffee.

"So which one is it?" Ginny asked as she watched Hermione prepare herself more coffee. Hermione glanced over her shoulder and mumbled something that resembled "Which one is what?" Ginny shook her head with a sigh. She looked around Hermione's flat, which was situated 3 miles outside of Diagon Alley. On her kitchen counter laid the note that told Hermione that her rally had been postponed for 3 weeks due to unforeseen circumstances but Ginny knew that's what wasn't throwing Hermione off her 'A Game'.

"Are you depressed or nervous?" she asked passively as she picked at her fingernails. No response came from Hermione and when she sat back down at her kitchen table Ginny looked at her morosely.

"I'm guessing you're depressed because what reason do you have for being nervous?" She knew that her assumption was correct because they'd only been back from their holiday in Romania for 2 days now and Hermione hadn't been her usual self.

"I have a paper due in a couple of days," Hermione said insipidly while she blew on her hot drink. Ginny laughed openly and looked at her best friend sceptically, "You can't lie Hermione Granger, we aren't due back in healer school for a while and since when do you get nervous about writing essays? Admit it you're depressed because we left Romania where my older and manlier than Ron, brother is situated." Hermione grumbled into her cup and Ginny chuckled quietly.

"Don't worry you'll see him at Christmas," Ginny informed her for the 12th time in 2 days. 'Why do people assume that that will make me feel better? It's almost September!' Hermione thought heatedly to herself.

* * *

"Hermione dear eat something please," Molly begged a reluctant Hermione who had barely touched a good, wholesome meal since their return from Romania. Hermione picked at a piece of tomato and gave Molly a wry smile. "I'm just not hungry at the moment, sorry," she said with forced politeness. Molly's constant nagging at her to eat proper food was beginning to tug at her temper but she was always able to keep her cool as she knew everyone was just looking out for her.

"When was the last time you ate properly and not scoffed your face with junk food?" Harry asked his best friend who was now pushing a piece of celery around her plate listlessly.

"About a week ago," Hermione said nonchalantly as she took a sip of pumpkin juice. Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "But that's when we left Romania! Herms that isn't good, come on you'll see him at Christmas," he said as he tried to cheer her up. However all he got from her was a sharp glare and a mumble about it only being the start of September.

"Say Herms isn't your rally in 2 weeks?" asked Arthur from the head of the table, trying to lighten the mood around the Burrow kitchen table.

"Yeah that's right how's your speech?" asked George who had been invited to dinner at his childhood home with his twin brother. Everyone looked at her with happy faces and high hopes but were shot down when she told them that she'd had the speech written for a long time now and that she had to go home now to clean her flat. A few moments after she had floo'd away from the Burrow a heavy sigh was emitted from Molly.

"Oh that poor girl, I've never seen anyone as love sick in my life and I've endured Ginny," the mother of the Weasley siblings said profoundly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" exclaimed Ginny who was sitting beside Fred with Harry opposite her. Molly gave a genuine chuckle and then looked at her daughter fondly. "When Harry wasn't your other half I had to endure you pinning over him for a good few years honey and that was hard enough but Hermione…I've never seen anyone as bad," she said sadly as the entire table nodded at her in agreement. Ginny cupped her head in her hands and sighed. She knew where her mother was coming from, she had been terribly lovesick over Harry so she knew how her best friend felt and she wanted now to do everything in her power to help the situation.

"What should we do?" she asked the table. As everyone thought hard she looked at Harry who had a glint in his eye.

"I think I have an idea," he said with gusto.

* * *

"You are on in twenty minutes Miss Granger," an official told a patiently waiting witch. Hermione stopped scanning over her speech and looked up at the wizard who was now looking at her.

"Thank you Carl." Carl was a man she had met many times during her rallies and she had grown quite fond of him. He was the only gay friend she had and he was so passionate about magical creature rights.

"What's wrong darling? You seem a bit off today; usually you are pacing about the floor chugging down the fizzy pumpkin juice. Is something the matter?" he asked as he sat down on an empty seat beside, the rather passive looking witch, and crossed his legs. Hermione gave him a meek smile and told him that it was nothing and that she was just nervous but Carl seemed to know that there was something else bothering her.

"Hermione darling you can't lie so stop patronising me and **tell** me." He was a very forward person and he took no crap from anybody and he especially wouldn't let the smartest witch of their generation get the better of him.

"Well…it's about a guy," Hermione said giving up even trying to persuade Carl that she was only nervous. "What did that jerk do to you now?" Carl said aggressively as he flipped his jaw-length hair out of his face. "Oh that's right you don't know! Ronald and I are no longer an item. Gosh this is a really long story, would you mind if I shortened it down a bit?" She'd forgotten she hadn't seen Carl since their last rally together which had been over 4 months ago.

"NO! You will tell me every detail. I will not accept less!" Carl exclaimed dramatically. Hermione chuckled lightly at his enthusiasm for gossip and began, "It all started in Romania."

* * *

"When is she on?" asked Fred eagerly. George flipped through a small booklet and then looked at his pocket watch. "She's on in fifteen minutes. I can't believe we've never been to one of these rally things before, it's amazing!" George said to his twin excitedly. "You know George I think we could sell our products here. We don't test them on magical creatures…only ourselves and other volunteers. We can say that no magical animal was harmed during the testing of our products (bar ourselves). They'll eat it all up!" Fred said as a brainwave hit him.

Ginny and Harry seen Fred and George's faces light up with glee and they knew instantly that they were discussing something about the rally and their business. "They really are amazing aren't they," Harry said with a laugh as Fred and George bounced past them waving their arms wildly. Ginny nodded her head as she gazed around the massive field that the event was being held in. She couldn't help but get excited as she seen stalls of magical potions, jewellery and organic food. Her handbag was loaded with information sheets and her feet were covered in mud from the wet ground, this really was a wonderful place.

"Come on," she said to Harry as she grabbed his hand, "Let's go look at the stalls!"

* * *

"And now I'm here," Hermione said with a heavy sigh as she handed Carl a tissue. Carl dabbed away the fresh tears from his eyes and clutched Hermione's hand tightly. "That was an amazing story darling. I can't believe all that happened in the space of 2 short weeks. This Charlie guy sounds to me like the perfect man for you. Oh I wish he was gay…if he was I'd have had him _years_ ago." Hermione cringed slightly but laughed all the same. Carl was so funny at times and it felt good to get everything off her chest again. It actually made her feel more confident about doing her speech.

"Is it still raining?" she asked the still weeping wizard.

"N-no it stopped j-just as I came into see you." Hermione smiled, she was glad the rain had stopped as she hated doing her speeches in the pouring rain. She looked back at the sobbing wizard and grinned. "I'm going on now Carl. Will you be watching me?"

"I wouldn't miss it darling you know that," Carl said as he tried to sober himself up. Why did he always cry at a good story? "Okay then…wish me luck!" and with that Hermione walked out onto the stage to greet her audience and just as she stepped up to the podium she heard Carl shout, "You don't need it!"

* * *

"Oh look she's coming on! We have to get up closer," Ginny said as she tried to drag her boyfriend through the heaving crowds. Harry, whose glasses were askew due to being pushed and pulled around too much, suddenly stopped and pulled his other half close to him. "No we can't go up to the very front you know that!" he hissed in her ear. As chills went down her spine Ginny looked Harry in the eyes. "I'm not stupid I just meant close enough that we don't have to strain our eyes to see her!"

**--**

"Good afternoon Cunningham field!" Hermione exclaimed as she held her wand up to her throat. The sound of her magically enhanced voice vibrated through the air and was met with cheers and clapping.

"It's good to see you all! I'm Hermione Granger and I am going to talk to you today about the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare or SPEW for short." Another loud cheer was emitted from the crowd of people who had assembled to see her. She smiled eagerly and continued on with her well rehearsed speech.

"House elves today are being treated like they have been for centuries…like slaves! _95.76 percent_ of magical homes in the UK today have a house elf working for them, receiving no pay, no holidays and improper clothing. Many witches and wizards accept this way of life for the house elf and so have the house elves come to _expect_ this standard of living for themselves. As a witch born into a non-magical family I have been able to see the _cruelty_ and _unfairness _of house elf enslavement from a different perspective."

**--**

"Wow she is on fire!" Fred whispered into Ginny's ear as they stood at a safe distance and watched their best friend, who was practically like a sister to all of them, perform her speech.

"She should be Minster!" George whispered into Ginny's other ear. Harry who was standing directly behind Ginny heard these remarks and smiled warmly to himself. He knew Hermione was a great speaker, she always had been and it warmed his heart to see his best friend being admired by so many people for all of the right reasons.

"When will she see?" Fred and George asked Harry in unison. Harry snapped himself out of his memories and looked up at Hermione who was wowing the crowd with every word she spoke. "Any minute now," he said knowing he was right.

**--**

"I ask you to picture _yourselves _now as the slaves. The indignity of having to wear only a simple piece of cloth to hide your bodies, the anger of not receiving thanks or pay for all of your hard work and having to work every single day of your life. It's not a pleasant picture is it? We at SPEW are aiming to _change_this horrific way of life for house elves for good. We aim to get house elves proper payment for their work, proper clothing and holidays. Join our fight against enslavement and you too will feel a great sense of pride knowing…" As Hermione directed her view at the front row for the first time since her speech started she faltered as she seen the blazing red hair and tanned features of Charlie Weasley staring up at her with a broad smile on his face. Her heart hammered against her ribs as he winked at her and motioned for her to keep going.

"Has she noticed?"

"Yeah she has. She doesn't normally stop during one of her speeches but seeing Charlie standing in the front row certainly seems to have stopped her tongue." Harry laughed. Never before had he seen Hermione falter during a speech, not even when Ron had surprised her by attending her very first rally. He knew now that Charlie most certainly was the one for his best friend.

"…knowing that you can help change the lives of thousands of repressed house elves around the country. Help us today to stop the corruption. Thank you," Hermione concluded with a triumphant feeling in the pit of her stomach and a warm, tingling, excitement in her heart. After she took her bow she practically ran off the stage, briefly told Carl that Charlie was in the crowd and ran down the steps and forced her way into the crowd. She pushed and shoved people out of her way as best as she could and before she knew it she had been engulfed deep into the crowd and was nowhere near the front. 'Damn it!' she grumbled to herself and she pushed a rather large lady out of her way.

"Charlie!" she started shouting. She knew it was no use but it wouldn't harm her to try. "Charlie!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as people started to move out of her way voluntarily. "Char-," she began but was pushed into an open circle of grass where no one seemed to be standing but she soon knew the reason why when she seen Charlie standing in the very middle of the open area. Tears freely fell from her eyes as she ran up to the man she thought she wouldn't see for another couple of months and flung her arms around his neck.

"Oh Charlie!" she sobbed into his neck as he ran his fingers through her hair. She knew he was smiling and so she lifted her head up to see his face. His eyes were bright and cheerful and his teeth were pearly white. He smelled like oak and lemon and was slightly wet from the rain.

"Hey Herms," he said brightly, yet passionately as he gazed deeply into her eyes. Hermione was unaware of anyone watching them and her lips crashed down onto his in a kiss that she had needed since she had gotten back from her holiday. As the radiant couple kissed, the rain started to fall once again and Ginny was heard sighing, "How romantic." Harry cuddled his girlfriend, who was close to tears of joy, as they watched the happy couple be swallowed up by the crowd. He loved it when his friends were happy.

"Thanks for paying to bring Charlie over here Harry. You are the most wonderful boyfriend in the world," Ginny said sweetly as she pecked Harry on the cheek. Harry chuckled as he spotted Charlie carrying Hermione out of the crowd and into a music tent. "I'd have done anything just to see Hermione happy again. I think we should go to Romania next year…don't you?"

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:** **:sob:** _**:sobs harder:**_ **_:weeps hysterically:_**Oh it's all over now!! Harry was so sweet to do that for Hermione don't you think? That's what friend are for lol. Well I hope the final chapter was entirely suckyfor you all and please review with all of your comment **:D:D:D **Thank you all for being so consistent with my story and thank you all for believing in me. I love you all and shall see you in another fic. **LOVE xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


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